a novel or radical aspect of the cab was the use of civil forfeiture to freeze and seize the proceeds of criminal conduct under the proceeds of crime act, 1996. ireland was one of the first countries to introduce civil forfeiture. civil forfeiture involved a recognition on the part of the state that conventional methods of tackling organised crime were ineffective. whilst the cab was perhaps intended to confiscate the assets of drug dealers and those involved in organised crime its powers can extend to all assets that are the result of criminal activity. even though the cab focuses on serious and organised crime, it has increasingly moved against low- and medium-level offenders who may present as poor role models within their communities, albeit that these cases often cost more to bring than they return financially. the cab has been distinguished from other agencies who tackle serious organised crime in ireland in that those agencies may be typified as being reactive whereas the cab is proactive; a fact which may be considered as representing a significant development in crime control. whilst novel to ireland, the concept of forfeiture in the absence of a criminal conviction has a long ancestry, with roots in ancient rome and evidence of its lineage in the old testament. it has long been an important feature of the jurisprudence of the usa and has recently been adopted in other common law jurisdictions including the uk and the cayman islands in their proceeds of crime legislation.