Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Accepted
City of London Police admitted that front-line officers do not have the training they need...
Conclusion
City of London Police admitted that front-line officers do not have the training they need to tackle fraud. It told us that “The constable on the ground will know very little 22 Public Accounts Committee, Sixth Report of Session 2017–19, The growing threat from online fraud, HC 399 23 Q 37 24 Qq 32–33, 36, 46, 115 25 Qq 22, 30 26 Q 123 27 Public Accounts Committee, Fifteenth Report of Session 2022–23, The Police Uplift Programme, HC-261 28 Qq 36–38, 53; Justice Committee, Fourth Report of Session 2022–23, Fraud and the Justice System, HC 12 Progress combatting fraud 13 about fraud. They probably will not know about the national lead force status and, if they do, they will know very little about it. They definitely need more training”.29 It accepted that this can cause issues for police morale because officers don’t have the education and training they need to keep pace with such a fast-changing world. It also told us there were issues with the recruitment and retention of specialists as fraud specialists have skills which are very attractive to the private sector. City of London Police told us it planned to improve the level of specialist training given to police officers investigating fraud through its Economic and Cyber Crime Academy and the College of Policing. It also explained that it was in the process of launching an app for constables on the ground. It told us this will describe what Action Fraud is, how to report fraud, what City of London Police does as the national lead force for fraud, and give prevention advice which officers can pass on to the public.30
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and is increasing law enforcement investigative capacity to tackle fraud through the National Fraud Squad (NFS), jointly led by City of London Police (CoLP) and National Crime Agency (NCA) by 2025. The revised Strategic Policing Requirement gives greater prominence to fraud.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4. PAC conclusion: The Department has failed to support police forces to build the capacity or skills they need to tackle fraud effectively. 4. PAC recommendation: The Department should outline, as part of its Treasury Minute response, how it will increase both the priority of tackling fraud within territorial police forces and the capacity of police forces to investigate cases. The Department also needs to step up its support to police forces to ensure they can tackle fraud more effectively. 4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Ongoing until Spring 2025 4.2 The government is increasing law enforcement investigative capacity to tackle fraud. We announced the launch of the National Fraud Squad (NFS) in the Fraud Strategy. This will include over 400 new posts across policing and the NCA by 2025. The NFS will investigate and disrupt more fraudsters through strategic coordination at a regional and national level. 4.3 The NFS will be jointly led by City of London Police (CoLP) and National Crime Agency (NCA). CoLP, as the national lead police force for fraud, will increase its view across wider policing’s activity on fraud, disseminating intelligence, promoting best practice and holding forces to account for delivery. NCA, as the operational system lead, will lead operational work across law enforcement, the intelligence community and industry focusing on a more proactive response to tackling fraud. The NFS will share intelligence in real-time to understand the threat and take proactive enforcement action across government and the private sector against the most harmful fraudsters targeting the UK public. 4.4 The revised Strategic Policing Requirement gives greater prominence to fraud. This will focus police efforts to tackle fraud and maximise the output of existing police resourcing, by helping local forces better exploit NCA and CoLP’s national capabilities.