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City police are employing 50 specialists to cope with a £1 billion increase in fraud, a senior officer said today.
Mike Bowron, the Commissioner of City of London Police, is heading the national drive against economic crime, which has soared by 64 per cent in the last financial year. He said officers were making the issue a priority, with plans in place to introduce a National Fraud Intelligence Bureau — in which police, banks and insurance companies will work together to strengthen investigation nationally and create a map of fraudulent activity.
“The notion is that it's a gentleman's crime, that the chances of getting caught are slim and, if you are caught, you'll get two weeks in Ford open prison,” he said. “Those days are gone. It's not whitecollar crime and I won't have that phrase mentioned in my force. It is organised crime.”
Mr Bowron said the downturn in the property market had prompted a surge in mortgage fraud, perpetrated through the deliberate overvaluing of new developments.
“These are crooks who are not motivated by a heroin habit or social deprivation and it gives me — as a cop — great satisfaction to catch them,” he added. The new team of fraud specialists has begun to investigate new frauds valued at £1 billion and has gathered intelligence on cases with potential losses of £500 million.
Mr Bowron said: “Fraud has not been a priority for either the police or the public — not because nobody understands it but because nobody walks down the street in fear of being embezzled. The fact is that it is the crime we are most likely to fall victim to.”
The value of reported frauds was put at £14 billion in 2005 by independent academics. But they also said the amount of total losses — when unreported cases were taken into account — was likely to be closer to £20 billion.
The credit crunch has exposed more suspect financial activity. Mr Bowron said: “The recession is identifying fraud that already existed in many cases, but it may also be causing some fraudsters to move from one type of activity to another.
“The pressure on us now is to try to read economic cycles, to predict the next type of fraud.”
He said a National Fraud Intelligence Bureau could help officers to determine how fraudsters in different parts of the country might link up with each other. “We're not going to catch every fraudster, but by logging every reported fraud we can work out where things are happening and design means to stop them,” he added.
Mr Bowron said fraud was the biggest priority for the City police at the moment. He said: “If we identify a network of criminals working along the M62 corridor, running staged accidents for insurance fraud, then Greater Manchester Police are likely to say, We've got a gun crime issue, we've got a gang issue, we'll get round to it when we can'.
“I'm not criticising other chiefs — it's about priorities. My priority in the City of London isn't gun crime or hoodies. I don't have those problems. We can lead on fraud. We can give advice, provide technical expertise or, if a case is really complex, take it on.”
Reader views (6)
They need to hire another 100 to look into the fraud in Westminster alone. Just when is one of these thieving MP's going to be interviewed ?
- Duncan Walker, Ex Peckham now Thailand, 27/05/2009 08:14
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YEP START WITH GREEDY MPs, THEN THE HOUSE OF LORDS ,THEN THE EUROPEAN GRAVY TRAIN .THAT SHOULD KEEP THEM BUSY FIGHTING REAL FRAUD DAYLIGHT ROBBERY THE POWERLESS BRITISH CAN DO NOTHING BUT BE FORCED TO PAY TAXES AND BE FLEECED WHAT A DEMOCRACY AT LEAST ROBERT MUGABE LET HIS CITIZENS KNOW THEY WHERE BEING SHORT CHANGED AND DICK TURPIN WORE A MASK ,
- Jim Fennessey, london, 26/05/2009 16:44
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Increasing the number to combat fraud is not the answer.The Police needs to be more proactive in their investigations when fraud is reported to them.There are so many unsolved financial crimes,worth more £35 billion in the City .The Police is unable to handle these financial frauds mainly because the very fundamental concepts have been ignored by the people who conduct the investigations.The brokers make their money as a direct consequence of the fraud investigators during this process.
- Ramraj Balloo, Sutton Surrey,UK, 26/05/2009 16:38
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Another senior police manager using the word 'cop' - give me strength! Do they think it gives them some credibility? The real 'cops' are the (mainly) young officers, poorly trained and very poorly managed/led who have to deal with the craziness that goes on out there 24/7 on Planet Underclass, understaffed and with their hands tied behind their backs with bureaucracy, health & safety and political correctness. All that and being unable to trust many so called colleagues who belong to the easily offended and very litigious community. That said, fair play to Bowron, fraud is everywhere (as we all know thanks to the Telegraph), abnout time the police took it seriously. I can't see why the City police can't be the London lead. Look forward to seeing some former MP's being taken into Bishopsgate nick soon.
- Ranter, Maidstone. UK, 26/05/2009 13:56
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they should start with the politicians - thats fraud surely, claiming for non existant expenses and mortgages etc?!
- Stephen Park, Dubai, 26/05/2009 11:05
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I am sorry to say that the 95% of the Londoners are cheating the Government Instutions. Every sector of the public life are doing so. Educational Instutions, Banks, property, private business,asylum seekers.
Some of the salaried persons are honest to pay the tax properly, and not claiming the benefits. It is intention of every body to deprive the govt to minimise the tax payment.They are increasing their assets in the country and overseas beyound their income. Some of them have been cought by the VAT department and audit their income.
HONEST IS THE BAD POLICY.
- M.A Chishty, London, 26/05/2009 10:28
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