The proceeds from property forfeited to the province under the Criminal Property Forfeiture Act will be made available to Manitoba’s police services and victim service providers for the second time in a year. This announcement was made by Justice Minister Andrew Swan.
“Manitoba’s criminal property legislation continues to be a powerful tool to take the profit out of crime,” said Swan. “Proceeds of crime are being redirected to make our communities safer for Manitoba families.”
The money comes from the province’s criminal property forfeiture trust fund. Under the Act, the province can seize certain unclaimed assets through an administrative process or apply for a court order to seize the profits from unlawful activities, property bought with those profits and property used to commit crime.
In keeping with the legislation, the province is inviting law enforcement agencies to submit applications for funding to support initiatives that enhance their practices and training, or reduce or prevent crime. A portion of the funds may also be paid to the province’s Victims’ Assistance Fund under the Victims’ Bill of Rights to support programs and services that benefit victims of crime.
Applications from law enforcement agencies are due by April 19. A committee will review submissions and successful proposals will be announced in the coming months.
To date, more than $930,000 in grants has been allocated across the province, Swan said. Previous grants include funds for a Zodiac boat for the Selkirk RCMP detachment, equipment to enhance and improve use-of-force instruction at the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) training academy, scanning sonar for the WPS Underwater Search and Recovery Unit and a fingerprint fuming chamber for the joint Brandon Police Service and RCMP identification unit. Since 2010, over $4.5 million in assets have been successfully forfeited to Manitoba through the civil court and administrative forfeiture process under the act.
