The impact of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 on the pluralisation of policing in England and Wales

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) created new, non-warranted policing roles with specific and extensive powers to investigate the money laundering that is associated with, and an intrinsic part of, serious and organised crimes, and to address the significant threats that these crimes pose (HM Government, 2018 and NCA, 2023). The POCA also permitted those new roles to operate in a variety of public bodies (which will be listed in full later in this paper but include His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the National Crime Agency (NCA), and the Home Office) and, through its sector specific aspects aimed at the regulated financial sector, in the private sector. In doing so, it had a significant impact on the pluralisation of policing in England and Wales. This paper reports on primary research which allowed for a quantitative analysis of how the POCA has impacted policing in terms of who polices, the importance placed on the skill of financial investigation, and the career paths available to those who wish to police, by investigating how many people are working in these roles across the public sector two decades after its enactment.