British organized crime out of control

• Tweet

LONDON, May 12 (UPI) -- British Prime Minster Gordon Brown, speaking on crime for the first time in nearly two years, announced plans Tuesday to clamp down on rampant organized crime.

The Times of London disclosed a month ago that police had identified 2,800 organized crime gangs, almost three times more than had been previously divulged.

The Times reported increasing concern over the inability of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) to reduce big organized crime.

"We face new kinds of crime, especially knife crime, organized crime, e-crime and identity theft, and now the new challenge of preventing what happened in previous recessions, where burglary and robbery went up," Brown said at a conference of partnerships on crime and disorder abatement.

The annual report highlights the increase in organized crime and a lack of coordinated effort between SOCA and police.

Britain yearly spends $610 million on SOCA, but $3.81 billion on counter-terrorism, raising concerns about the government's lack of focus on organized crime.