The West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner has called on Policing Minister Damien Green to allow West Yorkshire Police, and other forces, to keep the money generated from criminals.

Mark Burns-Williamson, who has spearheaded the campaign since his election, made the plea at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioner’s Conference in London yesterday. He said the Minister agreed to consider his proposals.

“This is a significant step forward in my campaign to bring all the money seized from criminals back into our communities,” Mr Burns-Williamson said after the meeting.

“Currently, half of money recovered goes back to the Government, and I have brought this to the attention of Policing Minister Damien Green.

“He agreed to consider returning all Proceeds of Crime to our communities and close the loopholes in legislation to make sure we can do more to hit criminals where it hurts and invest more into tackling crime.”