Police campaign showing vehicles seized from criminals used cars borrowed from showrooms

When police put a £350,000 collection of cars seized from gangsters on public display, it was a public relations triumph in the war on crime. Strathclyde Police acting chief constable Campbell Corrigan posed with 10 gleaming motors sporting registrations of “SEIZED”. They included an £80,000 Audi and a £50,000 Range Rover with windscreen stickers saying “one criminal owner”. But the motors had not been seized from organised crime but were actually borrowed from a car dealership.



When asked who had owned the cars police eventually conceded: “The vehicles used in respect of this event were representative of vehicles seized.” Politicians have  now warned that the police are risking public confidence for publicity. Scottish Conservative chief whip John Lamont said: “This is an issue of trust. The event would have been worthwhile if they’d either used the real cars seized or come clean about where they were actually from. How are the public supposed to be persuaded the Proceeds of Crime Act is being carried out honestly if they are being deceived by publicity stunts?”

Labour justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald: “If I was them, I’d want to make up for this by going out and seizing some real cars from criminals and putting them on display. It’s right that they seize vehicles from drug dealers and criminals but on this occasion they got it wrong.” The police website still carries a press release which says: “Step into our car showroom, have a look around! To demonstrate our ongoing work to tackle and disrupt organised crime, we displayed a pop-up showroom at George Square, Glasgow, which featured high-spec and high-value vehicles we’ve seized from criminals.”



Strathclyde Police said: “The vehicles displayed were identical substitutes of some of the high-spec models seized by officers since April 2012, and were used as examples only. They were sourced from a car dealership at no cost to the force. Acting chief constable Campbell Corrigan fronted the media facility and, in response to questions asked, explicitly advised that the vehicles on display were representative of actual seized vehicles. We were unable to use seized vehicles due to various constraints, such as ongoing criminal cases. A number of vehicles identified as stolen had been returned to their owners.”