NSW Crime Commission lacks funds to target the big fish

The NSW Crime Commission chief says wealthy criminals are not being targeted as the agency lacks the resources to pursue them.

NSW Crime Commission Acting Commissioner Peter Cotter. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The head of the NSW Crime Commission has conceded high-value criminals with enormous asset reserves are not being targeted because the agency lacks the resources to pursue them and track their wealth.

Acting Commissioner Peter Cotter told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday the agency wanted to significantly boost its asset confiscation capabilities but currently lacked adequate resources to target its most sought-after criminal targets.

“There are a whole tier of criminals out there which we ­believe we are missing,” he said. “There are a whole lot of people … who we can’t get to.”

Mr Cotter said a business model seeking $36m over the next 10 years had been submitted to the NSW government and was being assessed. The money would be used to double the number of analysts, accountants and lawyers at the agency, which, among other roles, aims to identify wealth obtained illicitly by suspected criminals.

Currently there are fewer than eight forensic accountants working at the agency, said Mr Cotter.

“They are probably only just keeping up with referrals. There are criminals out there who are asset rich and we do need a greater capacity to reach into them, analyse where their funds are, where they’ve gotten their money, and commence proceedings against them,” he said.

The return on investment for the government would likely be five-fold, he said.

The commission is one of the state’s premier crime-fighting agencies and is renowned for its work on asset seizures and its ­secret, coercive hearings where criminals and suspects are compelled to answer questions. Failure to do so can lead to prosecutions and jail time.

Seconded from the NSW Police Force, Mr Cotter assumed the commissioner’s role last year during a time of great tumult and turmoil at the organisation.

He was forced to defend some of the commission’s senior staffing arrangements during questioning by Labor MP Adam Searle, who asked why only one female occupied a senior executive role out of the nine spots available at the agency.

About 60 per cent of commission staff are female. He said senior executives were appointed before he came on board.

Labor’s Hugh McDermott said the Police Minister needed to instigate an independent review of funding at the agency to ensure it was adequately resourced. “The agency is stretched ­beyond its limit,” he said.