Most victims of fraud are not receiving the level of service they
deserve, a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary
and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has confirmed.
The report, ‘Fraud: Time to Choose’, makes clear the choice that
needs to be made. Leaders in government and the police service
can either continue to respond to fraud in an inconsistent manner
or they can act to ensure that there is a clearer strategy, less
variation in service between forces and better communication with
the public.
HM Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said:
“In a time of competing priorities for the police service, we
understand that police leaders have difficult decisions to make.
But during this inspection, one officer told us that fraud does
not ‘bang, bleed or shout’ and, as a result, it is not considered
a priority. Nonetheless, people are more likely to be victims of
fraud than any other crime.
“The current model of local investigations supported by national
functions is the right one. But processes need to be much more
efficient, and performance must be managed to provide the best
possible service that available resources will allow. We did find
examples of local investigators providing victims with excellent
service, but they are hampered by the lack of government or
national policing strategies for tackling fraud. This has
profound implications in how forces understand roles and
responsibilities, how the public is protected from fraud and how
victims of fraud are treated by police forces.
“Seven of the 11 forces we inspected were unable to provide basic
data on the demand fraud places on them. Despite good evidence,
some cases were simply being dropped, with staff believing their
function was to reduce demand. While we acknowledge the pressures
on the police service, this simply cannot be acceptable.
“So we are calling on the police service to make a choice. Either
continue with the current inconsistent approach, which puts
members of the public at a high risk of becoming victims of crime
or look at ways to improve that will start to make a difference.
“The recommendations in this report highlight the areas where
police forces and other organisations need to improve. In
particular, there needs to be stronger strategic leadership to
tackle fraud. Without that leadership the current situation will
continue, with fraudsters feeling like they can act with impunity
and victims feeling confused and disillusioned. This has to
change.”
Notes to editors:
- Our
inspection took place between March and July 2018. We visited 11
police forces in England and Wales, all 9 regional organised
crime units, the National Crime Agency, Action Fraud, the
National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and Europol. We also
interviewed staff involved in implementing the new National
Economic Crime Centre. We invited the local policing body for
each of the 11 police forces to give us their views. A full list
of the forces that were inspected is in Annex D – Forces and
regional organised crime units inspected.
-
HMICFRS is an independent inspectorate, inspecting policing to
promote improvements in policing that make everyone safer, and
assesses and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of
police forces to tackle crime and terrorism, improve criminal
justice and raise confidence.
