Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Justice System
Justice Committee
HC 12
Published 18 October 2022
Recommendations
15
Acknowledged
Para 52
Introduce legislative changes to allow flexible compensation order value adjustments for victims.
Recommendation
The Government should introduce changes to compensation order legislation to allow for flexibility in altering the order value if a criminal is later found to have assets of greater value which can be used to compensate victims of their crimes. …
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Government Response Summary
The government did not commit to specific changes in compensation order legislation but outlined its agreement on a unified response to fraud and stated it will shortly publish a new strategy detailing efforts to stop fraud, empower victims, and prosecute fraudsters.
Ministry of Justice
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24
Acknowledged
Police training needs review to reflect evolving technology-exploiting crime landscape.
Recommendation
The College of Policing should conduct a review of the training offered to front- line staff to ensure it reflects the changing crime landscape and provides a strong foundation in crimes that exploit technology such as fraud. (Paragraph 88) 40 …
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Government Response Summary
The government is supportive of the College of Policing's (CoP) desire for high standards of learning and notes CoP is already working with City of London Police to review policing arrangements for fraud. It acknowledges more work is needed and continues to support CoP's collaborative plans, while detailing current training provisions.
Ministry of Justice
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27
Acknowledged
Para 109
Application of disclosure rules is problematic in digital fraud cases, requiring clearer guidelines.
Recommendation
Our inquiry heard of problems with the application of disclosure rules which can result in significant amounts of police and prosecution time being spent redacting and disclosing vast amounts of material that turns out to be unnecessary to the case …
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Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the complexity of disclosure, particularly with digital material, noting past revisions to guidelines and ongoing work. It states the forthcoming fraud strategy will detail aims for the disclosure regime in complex fraud cases.
Ministry of Justice
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Conclusions (3)
5
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 27
Fraud crimes do not impact victims equally and due to limitations in victim support capacity, efforts to support victims of fraud should be focused on those who need it most. It is therefore vital that responders to these crimes have the training and experience required to identify who may need …
Government Response Summary
The government committed to improving call centre capacity with new suppliers, launching a new reporting tool and website next year, and implementing automated SMS and a chatbot to ease reporting, but did not specify how support would be targeted to the most vulnerable.
6
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 31
Support available for victims of fraud is patchy and inconsistent. Thirty-seven police forces currently work with victim care units. However this is not compulsory and there is currently no national standard for fraud victim care.
Government Response Summary
The government agreed victims need support and allocated £30 million for Action Fraud upgrades, aiming to refresh the service by 2024 with a new reporting tool in 2023, but did not commit to a national standard for victim care or all 43 forces working with units by end of 2023.
37
Conclusion
Acknowledged
Para 146
The ‘failure to prevent’ offence for bribery has had success in driving better corporate behaviours. A similar offence for failure to prevent fraud being perpetrated using a company’s platforms would not only aid prosecution for these failures but focus private sector effort on designing fraud out of companies’ systems.
Government Response Summary
The government recognises the limitations of current corporate criminal liability laws and is considering the Law Commission’s paper from June 2022 to strengthen the law, including the creation of a 'failure to prevent fraud' offence. It also highlights the Online Safety Bill's new duty on companies to prevent fraud on their platforms.