The ACT's cash-strapped Director of Public Prosecutions office will get nearly $1 million to help seize criminal assets, the ACT government has announced ahead of its mid-year budget update.
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The Canberra Times revealed last September Canberra prosecutors did not have enough funding to cope with a "significant increase" of work related to proceeds of crime seizures.
That was despite securing more than $1.8 million for the territory in the last financial year.
ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said the DPP would receive an extra $970,000 over two years to employ three more prosecutors and an extra staff member to help seize criminal assets.
He was confident he extra resources would meet the demand from increased referrals from ACT Policing.
"This extra funding we have allocated for the DPP complements the extra resourcing ACT Policing has allocated to address criminal gangs," Mr Ramsay said.
"By allowing greater capacity to confiscate criminal assets that are identified through ACT Policing investigations, we are ensuring that offenders won't benefit financially from their criminal activities."
The DPP has been beset by chronic staff shortages over the past year.
ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Jon White, SC, said he could only spare two prosecutors, part-time, to deal with the rising number of criminal seizures.
Meanwhile ACT Policing's bikie busting taskforce was last year given an extra $6.4 million for eight more staff, including a forensic accountant to probe criminals finances.
Last financial year, ACT prosecutors seized properties worth a combined $1.1 million as proceeds of crime.
About $720,000 in cash, cars and other property was also forfeited to the territory.
Another $1.8 million worth of real estate, cash, vehicles and other property is now subject to a restraining order, a precursor to the seizure of the assets.
