From Wednesday, Britain's career criminals will face a new adversary with the launch of the National Crime Squad.

Its mission is to target multi-national crime with a budget of £100m.

The national squad is taking over from the old regional crime squads - the first time the UK has had a national crimefighting force.

Roy Penrose, Director General of the new squad interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live (4'5')

The squad - drawn from local police forces - will pinpoint the country's most serious criminals, including drug traffickers, arms dealers and paedophiles.

Many of its officers will be authorised to use firearms and trained in undercover surveillance.

The National Crime Squad will initially target 180 of the most dangerous criminals and will concentrate on the wrongdoers rather than individual criminal acts.

The network also has its sights set on stopping international crime.

Three-quarters of the squad's work will be in drug-smuggling

The squad will operate alongside the National Criminal Intelligence Service and target other key areas such as currency forgery and illegal immigration.

Around 1,500 detectives will work with the national squad, backed up by 250 civilian support staff.

Drug-related crime is expected to occupy most of their time. The organisation's boss, Roy Penrose, estimates three-quarters of its work will be in this area.

All detectives for the national squad are being recruited from within existing police forces and the six regional crime squads.

Officers entering the new squad will be required to give a special "loyalty" pledge.

It is one of a number of measures to keep corrupt police officers out of the national crimebusting force.

The head of the Squad, Director General Roy Penrose, has pledged to ensure his officers are "honest, upstanding and of the highest integrity".

A detective from the south-east regional crime squad was recently jailed for selling information to criminals who have benefited from corrupting serving and former officers.

Mr Penrose said he would not hesitate to remove them from the squad if there was any hint of them associating with undesirables.

Major drug traffickers work in many countries

Britain has 43 police forces, which have grown up around the country since the success of the original Metropolitan Police Force set up for London in 1829.

But these forces have always retained separate identities and recently concern has grown that some criminals, particularly those working at international level, were managing to avoid arrest by exploiting gaps in the system.

At the same time as the National Crime Squad is set up, the National Criminal Intelligence Service is being granted complete independence from the Home Office.

A separate Service Authority will run the service, which was set up in 1992.
 

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