Home Office urges fraud crackdown

The Home Office is drawing up guidelines for police to increase the number of fraud cases they investigate.

Fraud squads are reducing in size due to the competing demands of other crimes. "We are trying to send a message out that there are cases that do desperately need to be investigated," said Ken Farrow, head of the City of London Police fraud squad.

"Some forces have disbanded their fraud squads altogether ... due to pressures from other types of crime."

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is concerned that cases outside its criteria are being overlooked. "There is a feeling that people going in to report fraud at police stations are told 'this is a civil matter... it's nothing to do with us'," said Robert Wardle, the SFO's new director. The guidelines will recommend that frauds committed by organised criminals, or against vulnerable people, should be investigated.

Police outside London cannot be forced to comply. "If you are a crook, as long as you commit a fraud that is not serious or complex [the SFO's criteria] but outside the City of London, there is a limited chance of being prosecuted," said Raj Bairoliya, who runs Forensic Accounting, a specialist fraud investigation firm.