Serious Organised Crime Agency
| Serious Organised Crime Agency | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | SOCA |
Logo of the Serious Organised Crime Agency
|
|
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1 April 2006 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Dissolved | 7 October 2013 |
| Superseding agency | National Crime Agency |
| Employees | 4,200 |
| Annual budget | £494M (2008/09) |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
|
National agency (Operations jurisdiction) |
United Kingdom |
 |
|
| United Kingdom | |
| Size | 244,821 square kilometres (94,526 sq mi) |
| Population | 60,609,153 |
| Legal jurisdiction | England and Wales, less in Scotland and Northern Ireland |
| General nature |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Overviewed by | The SOCA Board |
| Headquarters | London, England |
| Elected officer responsible | Amber Rudd, Home Secretary |
| Agency executive | Trevor Pearce, Director-General |
| Child agency | Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre |
| Website | |
| www |
|
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) was a non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom which existed from 1 April 2006 until 7 October 2013. SOCA was a national law enforcement agency with Home Office sponsorship, established as a body corporate under Section 1 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. It operated within the United Kingdom and collaborated (through its network of international offices) with many foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
The Agency was formed following a merger of the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (elements of which were incorporated into AVCIS), the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), the investigative and intelligence sections of HM Revenue & Customs on serious drug trafficking, and the Immigration Service's responsibilities for organised immigration crime. The Assets Recovery Agency became part of SOCA in 2008, while the Serious Fraud Office remained a separate agency.
SOCA Officers could be designated the powers of a constable, customs officer or immigration officer and/or any combination of these three sets of powers. The Director General of SOCA (or his designate) was responsible for determining which powers were given to members of staff which could be altered depending on the nature of the investigation. Those police powers requiring a constable to be in uniform could not be exercised by SOCA Officers as the agency was non-uniformed.
...
Wikipedia