Victims of fraud still receiving a poor service from police
Too many victims of fraud are still receiving a poor service from the police and are denied justice, an independent review has found.
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Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that the detrimental effect of fraud is as great today as it has ever been. In the year ending March 2021, although other crimes decreased by 19%, overall levels of crime stayed the same because of a large increase in fraud and computer misuse offences.
However, the inspectorate said fraud continues to be treated as a low-priority or victimless crime.
HMICFRS reviewed the police service’s progress since its last fraud inspection in 2019. It found that ten of sixteen recommendations have been implemented, with progress made on a further two and three still outstanding. One of the recommendations is no longer relevant.
The inspectorate also gave five areas for improvement in 2019, only one of which has been dealt with fully.
HMICFRS said the City of London Police’s role as the national lead police force for fraud is clearer than it was in 2019, and there is now a three-year national policing strategy for tackling fraud.
The inspectorate found that the fundamental problem is a disparity between the amount of work fraud creates for the police and the resources allocated to it. It also said that because funding is only confirmed a year at a time, and with relatively short notice, it makes it difficult to plan and invest for the long term.
Recommendations from the 2019 HMICFRS report that are yet to be implemented include:
- evaluating the effectiveness of fraud protection advice given to the public by police forces;
- identifying, evaluating and disseminating best practice advice on the police response to fraud; and
- police forces publishing their policies for responding to and investigating fraud to make it clear to victims what they can expect when they report a fraud.
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said:
“You are still more likely to be a victim of fraud than any other crime, but too few fraudsters are held to account. More than two years after our last fraud inspection, I am disappointed that not enough has changed.
“We have seen some pockets of good work which should be commended, and we have been impressed by the dedication of people at all levels of the police service to improving how fraud is dealt with. But overall, too many victims of fraud still receive a poor service from the police.
“The scale of fraud has not diminished – in fact it has increased during the pandemic – and it needs to become more of a priority for police forces. The police and other agencies should come together to prevent and protect the public from fraud, more officers should be working on it, and there should be more investigations into it. All this would lead to more victims receiving the service and the justice they are entitled to.”
The inspectorate has made three new recommendations today, including that the National Police Chiefs’ Council Coordinator for Economic Crime, National Crime Agency, National Economic Crime Centre and City of London Police should work together to set up an effective national tasking and co-ordination process for fraud.
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A review of ‘Fraud: Time to choose’ – A revisit of the 2018 fraud inspection to assess progress of the recommendations and areas for improvement
Notes
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office from 09:00 – 17:00 Monday to Friday on 07836 217 729.