Drug dealers’ cash is set to be confiscated and given to the Anthony Walker Foundation as part of a continued push to take criminals' profits and use them to help people across Merseyside.
An initiative started earlier this year sees some money taken from drug dealers through the courts sent directly to charities in our region. While the cash, which is forfeited when dealers are brought before the courts, was previously sent straight to the Home Office, an initiative started by judges at Liverpool Crown Court now sees it go directly to charities that work to help communities across Merseyside.
It applies to smaller amounts of money forfeited under Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, rather than the larger sums taken from more senior criminals.
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Judges at the crown court pick a different charity to benefit each month. This month, the Anthony Walker Foundation has been chosen as the recipient for the money.
The charity, founded in the aftermath of the racist murder of 17-year-old Anthony Walker, works to tackle racism and hate crime through a range of initiatives across the region, including education and victim support. A spokesman for the foundation said they would use the funds to bolster the work they do across the city.
He said: “We at the Anthony Walker Foundation are grateful to HHJ Swinnerton and his colleagues for this donation. The extra funds will enable us to do more good work across the Mersey region, especially as we see an increase in reported hate crimes.
“The 30th of July 2022 will be seventeen years since Anthony Walker’s life was cut short, and the evil actions of a few people took him away from his family in a racist murder. The murder of Anthony shocked the country and people living in Merseyside to its core.
“However, soon after this brutal murder, Gee Walker, his mother and his siblings made a profound decision that we should celebrate Anthony’s life, and they wanted to create positive change from such tragedy.”
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