It is extremely satisfying to see money made by nefarious means being ploughed back into the community, so the new initiative by West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns Williamson is very welcome.

The Safer Communities Fund will distribute up to £500,000 to community groups in the force area, bringing together all money seized from crooks into one big pot.

The continued redirecting of criminals’ cash back into the community is to be applauded, and it is a clear indication to wrongdoers that they will not only do time if caught, but they face having their assets seized and sold off to repay any illegal gains they have made.

The introduction of the Proceeds of Crime Act allows the courts to confiscate cash, property and luxury goods to cover the money stolen by those convicted of theft and fraud.

It may take time, but police, along with the cooperation of other agencies, have shown time and again that they will painstakingly investigate the assets of crooks until they find every penny they can claw back from them.

And grassroot level groups throughout the county will reap the rewards from the confiscated cash.

If this scheme proves to be a success, it will also add weight to the ongoing campaign by Mr Burns-Williamson to persuade the Government to change the law so all seized cash is ploughed back into the force area it came out of in the first place – at the moment half goes to central Government.

Surely it is difficult to argue against all of this money being specifically targeted to benefit the communities affected by the crimes in the first place? We would urge the minister concerned to give full consideration to this campaign as quickly as possible.