Criminals who are now forced to live ‘life on a leash’
TWO people with serious criminal histories and links to Rochdale are condemned to ‘living life on a leash’.
Even after they’ve served prison sentences, these men’s lives are controlled by the authorities.
Who they socialise with, where they go on holiday, whether they can drive, and what bank accounts they hold are things they can no longer take for granted.
They live subject to a regime of restrictions, designed to make them ‘toxic’ in organised crime circles.
Now, the National Crime Agency, sometimes dubbed Britain’s FBI, have published the 24 restrictions - on twenty named individuals from Greater Manchester - that are currently in force.
They are designed to frustrate those who are or might be tempted to become - career criminals. It means those who see jail as an occupational hazard will find it harder to get back in the game on release.
Of the people currently listed, 16 are already out of prison and in the community - with three having orders placed on them in prison ready for their release.
Out of the twenty, 17 of those subject to restrictions have been convicted of drugs offences.
They include Craig Loveday, 46, from Rochdale, who was forced to surrender his passport after being banned from foreign travel.
Then, aged 41 he was jailed for 13 years in 2010 after he was found to be a van driver for a gang who imported tens of millions of pounds worth of cocaine into the UK from Barcelona.
Nationally there are 337 restrictions placed on criminals in England and Wales. They include 202 Serious Crime Prevention Orders (SCPOs).
Breaching an SCPO can land you with up to five years behind bars and an unlimited fine.
Some 72 people were subjected to Financial Reporting Orders, meaning they must report all their financial transactions, accounts, and assets.
A further 63 people were subjected to Travel Restriction Orders - which can be given to anyone sentenced to four years or more in prison for a drug trafficking offence.