British “FBI”—SOCA

The British government has unveiled a new crime-fighting organization modeled after the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation.^[1] The Serious Organised Crime Agency [hereinafter SOCA] will be staffed by approximately 5,000 people, and “will tackle drug traffickers, people-smugglers, global paedophile networks and sophisticated fraudsters.”^[2] Its chairman, Sir Stephen Lander, is the former head of MI5 and he has said that “one of [SOCA’s] main goals will be to take on people-smugglers who exploit illegal immigrants, such as the 23 Chinese shellfish gatherers who drowned in Morecambe Bay in February 2004.”^[3]

SOCA is Britain’s first “non-police law-enforcement agency,” combining enforcement activities “previously carried out by the National Crime Squad and the National Criminal Intelligence Service as well as some areas which immigration and customs officers used to enforce.”^[4] Part of SOCA’s strategic plan is to use “evidence from phone tapping, plea bargaining for witnesses, and a more sophisticated witness protection programme.”^[5]

In announcing the creation of SOCA, Prime Minister Tony Blair said “the time had come to end the ‘tyranny’ brought by organised crime. … ‘There is absolutely nothing in my view that should come before the basic liberties of people in this country to be freed from the tyranny … of this type of organised crime.’”^[6] Of course, the use of wiretaps infringes upon ordinary Britons’ basic liberties, but governments have never been known for their privacy interests nor their willingness to divulge information. For example, while today marked the official announcement of SOCA, it “has been operating as a ‘shadow’ unit for 12 months.”^[7]

SOCA has “already been able to draw up a ‘most wanted’ list of 1,600 organisations,” and will have an annual budget of £400 million (roughly $691 million).^[8] Compare that to the FBI’s projected 2007 budget allocation of $6 billion.^[9] There are approximately 296 million people in the United States, while there are approximately 60 million people in the United Kingdom.^[10] This means that the United States spends more than $20.25 per person on the FBI, while the United Kingdom will spend more than $11.50 per person on SOCA.

Most of SOCA’s staff will be focused on analysis and intelligence, and authorities will be able to offer “immunity to criminals who testify against their bosses,” and prosecutors will be able to “compel witnesses and suspects to hand over information,” while “crime bosses” who are convicted may have “to show bank statements for up to 20 years after release from jail to prove they have gone straight.”^[11]

---

[1] ”FBI” Crime-Fighting Unit Launched, Reuters, Apr. 3, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] UK FBI Squad Will “Empower” Victims, Sky News, Apr. 3, 2006.
[8] New Police Force to Fight Crime Gangs, Sky News, Apr. 3, 2006.
[9] Government Printing Office, Budget of the United States: Department of Justice, last visited Apr. 3, 2006. (PDF)
[10] CIA, CIA World Factbook: Rank Order—Population, Jan. 10, 2006.
[11] Sky News, supra note 8.