SOCA subbed by NCA

The UK National Crime Agency (NCA), which replaces the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), opened for business this week. It will tackle economic crime, organised crime, border and policing and child exploitation and protection. Neil Blundell, partner at Eversheds, says: “In any crime fighting body, co-ordination is vital and the bringing together of various functions should be welcomed but only if it has the resources to do what it should be doing. The fear is that the NCA will be under-resourced and therefore ineffective.”