SCDEA Vision, Mission, Organisational Values and Strategic Priorities
Our Vision
To Protect Scotland's communities from serious organised crime
Our Mission
Working every day for the people of Scotland - dismantling serious organised crime
Our Organisational Values
Trust, Commitment and Respect
The Agency will work with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Police Service towards a Safer and Stronger Scotland where citizens and communities are not blighted by the effect of serious organised crime, drug addiction and supply and in particular:
Work with and in support of the Scottish Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to tackle, disrupt and dismantle serious organised crime groups with an emphasis on the trafficking of Class A drugs and money laundering through targeted intelligence, interventions and enforcement activity;
Use the provisions in the proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to maximise the identification of assets for restraint and to support recovery of such assets through criminal confiscation and civil recovery; In consultation with other law enforcement agencies, conduct a mapping exercise to establish the scale and extent of serious organised crime in Scotland and, through comprehensive analysis, produce a relevant action plan by December 2008 for agreement with those partners;
Develop by February 2009, for approval by SPSA and Scottish Ministers, a set of relevant performance indicators and targets which can demonstrate the success of the Agency in tackling serious organised crime;
Work with the Scottish Government and ACPOS to support legitimate businesses by identifying and pursuing opportunities for innovative intervention tactics and techniques in the fight against serious organised crime.
The Agency was created as a part of the Scottish Executive’s Drugs Action Plan, and was formally established on 1 April 2001. The SCDEA plays an important role in supporting the ‘4 pillars’ of the action plan; Young People, Communities, Treatment, and in particular, Availability, and enhances the Scottish Police Service’s activities in preventing and detecting serious and organised crime in Scotland.
Serious crime can be defined as a crime for which a person aged 21 or over on first conviction could expect to be imprisoned for three or more years. Organised crime is continual serious criminal activity for substantial profit or gain, conducted by individuals normally working with others, whether based in the UK or elsewhere.
Drug trafficking poses a major threat to Scotland, and in terms of scale, drug trafficking represents the greatest threat from serious and organised criminals. The profitability of different criminal ventures is difficult to gauge and will fluctuate, but it is clear that drugs trafficking, whatever the commodity, offers sufficient profit at each stage of the trade, from cultivation or manufacture through to street-level dealing, to encourage the involvement of criminals of all levels. The SCDEA is committed to reducing the impact of the drugs trade in Scotland, and supporting community efforts to wipe out drugs in their areas.
