Warning of 'carte blanche' for fraud

A senior fraud squad detective has warned of a "carte blanche" for fraudsters, because police resources have dwindled over the past year.

Detective Superintendent Ken Farrow, the head of the City of London's fraud squad, estimated the number of officers working on frauds had dropped by a third – to about 500. "Many forces are having to withdraw fraud investigators around the country, particularly to investigate murder," he said. Fraud detectives are often highly experienced and therefore able to tackle other serious crime.

Mr Farrow said he sometimes has to refuse cases, because "unless [corporates] can bring us a parcel wrapped up in a neat bow we haven't got the resources to undertake investigations". He believes professional criminals are targeting banks, inserting employees with the sole intention of stealing information.

The police and the Confederation of British Industry are relaunching an initiative to employ advisory firms and use internal company security staff to do the spadework of investigation. The "Partners against crime" scheme will train civilians to investigate, and interview suspects, with the help of fraud detectives.

This would save police time and perhaps encourage companies to report fraud, because they are often reluctant to involve police. "We can encourage people to talk to us in confidence," Mr Farrow said. "We can have an off-the-record talk, and if they don't want to do anything, fair enough."