Niall Hearty of Rahman Ravelli details the calls made in an academic report on policing
A just-published report calls for the creation of a fraud commissioner and for all economic crime matters to be assigned to a government minister.
“Turning the tide: A plan to tackle online fraud'' has been produced by crime and justice researchers Crest Advisory in partnership with the Police Foundation and Birkbeck, University of London's Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research.
The report argues that there is a need for a renewed focus on online fraud within government strategy. It says creating the post of fraud commissioner and having all economic crime – including fraud – sit with a dedicated cabinet minister would provide oversight and leadership to an area that is currently under-prioritised and overlooked.
The report also calls for the introduction of an annual levy on online platforms, the proceeds of which would go towards efforts to prevent and tackle fraud. The proposed fraud commissioner would have the task of advising the government on how the levy would work in practice.
Steps
The report was drafted after interviews were conducted with experts in fraud policy and officers from three police forces who are involved in tackling online fraud.
It says that a number of steps need to be taken so that fraud is tackled effectively. These include:
- Ensuring the response to fraud is “ambitious and strategic'' and “on a par with the scale of the threat''.
- Providing law enforcement with the resources, training and technology necessary to pursue fraud.
- Developing “a proactive approach at all levels'' and creating a hostile operating environment for fraudsters, with enhanced preventative measures.
Sophie Davis, one of the report's authors, said:
“Our research shows that the national response to fraud does not match the scale of the threat. Despite making up over 40% of all crime in the UK, fraud has been under-prioritised for over a decade, allowing the UK to become a ‘haven for fraudsters'.
“Not only have current government measures created a responsibility vacuum, policing is under-resourced and lacking the skills required to deter and detect online fraudsters effectively.
“Despite a renewed government focus on fraud over the last two years — in particular, the publication of the first fraud strategy for a decade in 2023 — the approach to this crime still lacks the ambition needed to deal with what has been called an epidemic.
“The new Labour government has pledged to introduce a new expanded fraud strategy to tackle the full range of threats. This should include ambitious, tangible and long-term targets, alongside adequate resources and structural reform. If the government is serious about cutting crime, they cannot afford to ignore fraud.”
The new Fraud Commissioner would work with a number of agencies and provide advice direct to the government. They would be tasked with providing oversight and leadership to help tackle economic crime but with a renewed focus on online fraud. For this to be effective it will, of course, need to be properly funded - despite being proposed at a time of fiscal caution.
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