By Janice Goldstraw-White, Martin Gill and Mark Button
Levels of economic crime have soared to alarming levels in the last decade. Even with significant underreporting, the volume of offences has placed a strain on police resources and this has served to undermine the ability of law enforcement to respond effectively. Meanwhile, parts of the private and not-for profit sectors dedicate significant resources to combatting economic crime. Banks and insurance companies for example, employ thousands of staff in antifraud roles. This expertise is largely invisible to the police, representing a massive, wasted opportunity. Efforts to harness the work of the private and not-for-profit sectors to assist public policing initiatives to tackle economic crime have been slight, an observation as true for the UK as it is other countries. Much of the focus, where it does exist, appears to centre on data sharing while there are many other initiatives. Indeed, the link between the lack of resources and the potential to harness the work of others is rarely made. How can such a glaring gap exist? The overall aim of this project was to begin to address this question, more specifically:
To identify the forms of joint efforts taking place that can serve as a reference point to inspire and guide future initiatives;
To highlight some successful examples of engagement;
To indicate the factors that are needed to replicate success;
To lay the foundations for a larger scale study examining the ways in which additional resources from the private and not-for-profit sectors can cost effectively be harnessed to significantly improve the law enforcement response to fraud.
To understand the landscape of organisations working together we employed three key methodologies. First, we mapped the services provided by both private and not-for-profit entities that support (or have the potential to support) law enforcement responses to economic crime. Second, we developed a set of five illustrative case studies to demonstrate diverse forms of engagement. Third, we conducted in-depth interviews with stakeholders involved in various aspects of fraud prevention and enforcement to identify both the potential opportunities and the existing barriers to working together.
The output is designed to provide a resource for law enforcement, counter-fraud leaders and policymakers. Our mapping of existing initiatives will serve as a reference guide, facilitating opportunities to benefit from current provisions and inspiring replication and new ways of working.
Tunbridge Wells, UK: Perpetuity Research and Consultancy International Ltd and CCEC, Portsmouth, UK: University of Portsmouth , 2024. 61p.
