Written evidence submitted by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (FRA0035)

This response has been formulated by the Office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner. The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Simon Foster, holds the West Midlands Police force to account to ensure an efficient and effective police force with a focus on strategic oversight and scrutiny.

Fraud is now the most common crime in England and Wales, with it accounting for approximately half of all crimes committed. In the West Midlands there were 18,887 incidents of fraud and cyber-crime reported from February 2020 - March 2021. 89% of all fraud in the West Midlands was cyber-enabled, with online shopping scams appearing the most frequently, along with advance fee and banking frauds. The most common victims of fraud in the region are women and those aged 20-39. These figures are likely to be under representative of the true numbers of fraud incidents with a large number of incidents not being reported.

However, considering the extent of fraud and the large number of individuals affected by it, only a small number of incidents are reported to the police. The West Midlands does have more reported incidents of fraud than any other UK force area, bar the Metropolitan Police, who were above them. Issues of underreporting should still be considered, especially as only 8% of fraud cases were referred to law enforcement in the West Midlands and even smaller amounts of those resulted in prosecution – with less than 10% of all cases reported to West Midlands Police ending up in a judicial outcome (April 2019 - March 2020, Action Fraud).

Because of this, cyber-crime and fraud have been identified as one of the West Midlands PCC’s community safety priorities within the Police and Crime Plan for 2021-2024, a plan which outlines the PCCs objectives and issues to be prioritised during his term in office.

We have submitted evidence because of that priority, but also because we believe that it is important for this report to be representative of fraud and the justice system across the UK. Currently, a large amount of the discourse around fraud is centred on London, so this West Midlands based submission will provide a none-London based perspective.

Issues with the current Criminal Justice approach to tackling fraud.

A report has been produced by the PCC with Birmingham City University on “Tackling Fraud in the UK: Successes, Shortfalls and Strategies for Improvement”[1]. This report outlined key issues within the fraud space and plans for how these can be targeted in order to improve the UKs fraud response. There were issues outlined regarding funding and how fraud is often not given the amount of funding it needs – with funding instead being prioritised to crimes which are more visible. Funding has not increased proportionally with how fraud has increased, with funding remaining the same despite fraud rising by 55% in the last few years. This issue and some of the issues that follow, are due to problems with fraud governance, with it being overcomplicated, unclear and lacking a focus on the victims’ voice. From the PCCs Fraud Summit, clear themes arose surrounding issues of accountability within governance, with a view that there is a need for more strategic focus in this area.

Additionally, issues were discussed regarding victims of fraud and how the Criminal Justice System often does not treat them with consistency, with differing support being offered by different regions and services. The current system also lacks a victim voice, and because of this, victims are not provided with the support they actually need, either because support provided is inconsistent and confusing or because it does not have what victims actually need – increasing the likelihood of re-victimisation.

In this respect, issues have also been raised with the perceptions and narratives of fraud both within organisations and in wider society. This issue links in with victims and the justice system viewing their victimhood as only worthy, if their loss is of high monetary value. This reduces emphasis on the harm caused to victims and the, sometimes crippling, impact fraud can have, including on financial stability, wellbeing, confidence, life prospects, mental health, future employment and much else. Within the guidance set out by this committee, there is specific reference to the Serious Fraud Office which deals with high volume fraud cases. Having a specific focus on the SFO within this inquiry illustrates the danger of compounding previous mistakes, by focusing purely on the amount lost rather than the harm caused, i.e. the SFO focuses on large value and not volume crimes. This views fraud at a 2D level, only considering half of the story.

Furthermore, there are issues with sentencing and the justice systems approach to fraud. Firstly, as mentioned above, there are issues with sentencing guidelines as only the amount of money an individual loses is taken into account, not the harm caused. Further, in the fraud space there is a significant issue with court backlogs. Fraud cases take a long time to investigate, especially as a large number of cases have international aspects to them. The pre-existing court backlog, as a consequence of government failing to adequately fund judicial sitting days, has been exacerbated due to coronavirus. For example, data from October 2021 showed that the number of outstanding Crown Court cases was up 48.6% compared to the pre-pandemic average. This backlog is not only having a significant impact on victims, who are being left with uncertainty and without justice, but it is also having an impact on the cases themselves, with backlogs causing an increase in victim and witness attrition rates. Once the case reaches the courtroom, issues with tackling fraud extend into this space within juries. As juries are made up of peers, who will not be very familiar with fraud, it can mean that fraud cases are very difficult for juries to follow and understand, thus making it difficult for them to make an informed decision. Due to the complexity of fraud cases, this can often mean that trials last a lot longer than other criminal trials.

Plans to tackle rising instances of fraud, particularly the rise of fraud facilitated online.

The PCC has outlined plans to tackle rising instances of fraud within the West Midlands in his Police and Crime plan. The plan summarised:

General tackling of fraud

• A collective response to fraud is necessary, including for victim support.

•        That projects have been commissioned by the PCC to tackle rising instances of child victims of fraud, by raising the awareness of school children as to the dangers of becoming a “money mule”. There are plans for further projects to be commissioned for young people and university students.

•        A partnership response is required to defeat fraud and cyber-crime in the West Midlands. 

•        The PCC will continue to support the work of, provide support to and work with the West Midlands Fraud Board, towards a clearer and more joined up approach to addressing fraud. This board contains: Trading Standards, the Midlands Fraud Forum, West Midlands Police, the Crown Prosecution Service, Cifas, UK Finance, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and the City of London Police.

•        The PCC will work to see a better national approach to fraud by building on and implementing the recommendations of Birmingham City University’s report “Tackling Fraud in the UK: Successes, Shortfalls and Strategies for Improvement”.

•        There is a need for the governance of the national fraud collaboration to improve and for there to be more research into both the criminal economy associated with fraud and effective fraud prevention.

•        There is potential for development of a public health approach to fraud prevention.

Fraud Facilitated online

•        The PCC will ensure awareness of Cybercrime and Fraud is increased, including the steps that communities in the West Midlands can take to protect themselves.

•        Businesses will be supported in defending themselves against fraud and cyber-attacks by developing a network of “cyber champions” with the Federation of Small Businesses, focusing on employee training. This will be implemented across the wider region with the help of the West Midlands Criminal Justice System

Recommendations for tackling the rising instances of fraud

Fraud is dynamic, complex and evolving and whilst factors have been put in place to help tackle it, the PCC is clear that action to improve the Criminal Justice System’s approach to fraud needs to be taken. Three key areas were identified, within the report produced with BCU, that require improvement: governance, policing response and victim support.

Regarding governance, there is a need for it to be simplified, accountable and transparent, with a focus on the victims’ voice. Strong views were expressed in the PCCs fraud summit that change is needed within governance structures in order to improve the tackling of fraud. It is imperative for the UK Government to prioritise fraud and to make necessary investment into a system which is robust, accountable, joined up and which has the resources needed to target fraud. Recommendations for governance include, introducing performance measures, coordinating between countries on investigation and prosecution of fraud committed abroad, restructuring the UK fraud landscape and increasing the awareness of fraud for the public as well as those working in fraud governance.

Regarding National Policing Governance, we recommend that there needs to be a collaboration agreement between City of London Police and the rest of policing. This agreement needs to set out expectations and service standards, with proper mutual accountability arrangements. Furthermore, the BCU report suggested that Action Fraud be brought into the policing governance framework for a joined-up approach, which allows operations to be bought into policing delivery. Whilst there would be quite a significant cost for this, it is something which is necessary to be considered within the Home Office’s plans for tackling fraud.

A further matter that is evident across literature, research and from informed professional’s views, is that the current Justice System is ineffective in tackling fraud. For example, the earlier mentioned statistics show that fraud is the most common crime in the UK, but it has minimal prosecution rates – with less than 10% of all cases reported to West Midlands Police ending in a judicial outcome. This means a large amount of victims of fraud are not getting justice. Some of the recommendations which have been made include, restructuring the Criminal Justice Systems approach to fraud. Currently this approach is largely based on the extent of the financial losses to victims, with individuals who lose the most money being prioritised. It is suggested that this is altered so as to consider the monetary losses due to fraud, within the context of the wealth and income of the victim, but also to consider the harm caused to the victim. For example, the mental harm which is caused. Furthermore, it will allow victims of fraud with lower financial loses to be taken more seriously, because what is a modest loss for a large business would be crippling to the average UK citizen. As fraud is underfunded, any approach to fraud, whether the current system or the proposed restructured judicial approach, will need adequate funding in order to be able to tackle the rising level of fraud cases.

Fraud is multifaceted, so it cannot be targeted by only the Justice System, even with an amended judicial response. To tackle fraud, we are suggesting that it is more effective to take a Public Health Approach and focus on prevention, early intervention and upstream diversion. A Public Health Approach, within the context of fraud, would offer a holistic approach and focus on improving the health and safety of all, by drawing on fraud risk factors for both victims and perpetrators. It would not take away the role of the Justice System in targeting fraud, but it would instead allow for a collective, partnership response – a type of approach which the PCC recommends in his Police and Crime Plan.

A Public Health approach would place statutory duties on governance and other organisations, such as websites, social media sites and banks, rather than only the police/justice system, to be primarily responsible for enabling and encouraging the public to use the internet safely and to avoid activities which might put them at risk of becoming victims of fraud. It would involve the implementation of national fraud campaigns, of consistent victim care and a focus on harm caused. This approach to fraud will take the focus away from the Criminal Justice System and instead place the focus on the prevention of crime and the protection of victims – an approach which will build security and resilience.

A Public Health approach does not remove the Justice System’s role in tackling fraud in relation to the perpetrators of fraud. It does however, highlight the importance of the justice system establishing a better understanding of pathways into fraud offending and the diversionary capabilities that exist to deter such offending. This ensures that the focus is placed on all aspects of the 4 P approach, but most notably, a Public Health Approach encourages a preventative response.

Preventative action relating to fraud includes, better education and raising awareness of the public to make it less likely they will become a victim of fraud. This can be done through easy, accessible guides, national campaigns, local campaigns focused on local needs, for example, specific campaigns in universities to care homes, and through communication of successes in targeting fraud. Since a large amount of fraud is committed to acquire money or peer recognition, diversion techniques are encouraged to target these factors in those at risk of offending or those who have displayed entry level fraudulent behaviour.

Early intervention in the fraud space would be very beneficial as it would not only decrease the likelihood of fraud occurring and individuals becoming victims, but it would also reduce the impact on services like victim support or the criminal justice system. This would mean that when fraud did occur it could be targeted quicker, more efficiently and the necessary support could be provided. However, currently there is minimal work being done in this space, but it is necessary for streams of activity to increasingly focus on preventative action.

This Public Health Response to fraud, is something that we recommend be considered and applied, not just to the West Midlands, but nationally.

What is the current approach in the West Midlands Criminal Justice System in response to fraud? - Response provided by West Midlands Police

How the Justice System conducts fraud investigations and prosecutions:

There are many different prosecuting bodies for Fraud and each police force deals with fraud in a different manner – leading to inconsistences. Despite many bodies investigating fraud there is insufficient resources to conduct investigations. Proportionality is a key feature when deciding if a case is investigated and/or how far the case is investigated. Sentences for Fraud are often very poor and lack in any substantial deterrent to committing fraud offences. In addition there are almost no diversionary pathways that can be utilised to prevent reoffending in the future for fraud offenders.

The roles of the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office in the prosecution of fraud:

West Midlands Police has no comments on the SFO.

CPS primary role is to provide charging advice for cases and prosecute through court.  In complex cases the advice is to seek early investigative advice but the process of getting this can be difficult – when the case is allocated to a lawyer then the issues go away as there is now established and continued dialog with the allocated lawyer. There is disparity between lawyers in the complex cases unit in comparison to the generic pool of lawyers and the Fraud Investigation Model is not always fully understood.

WMP often face difficulties with exchanging large documents with CPS as they often require being submitted via a disc. This presents several challenges – duplication of work, the media getting lost, CPS not able to access the documents on the disc etc.

There are often time delays at CPS with charging decisions being awaited for several weeks and there not being much of an escalation process.

The experience of the impact and prosecution of fraud among those working in the legal system and victims of fraud 

The time frame to get cases through CPS significantly impacts victims and officers on the case. Partly this is due to the amount of work which is needed to get these cases to trial but it is due to the delays/ adjournment of cases when at court. In that time offenders are able to continue offending and more people will become a victim of fraud.

Plans to tackle rising instances of fraud, particularly the rise of fraud facilitated online

Below is a list of everything West Midlands Police are working on:

Implementing a coordinated multi agency approach - working collaboratively with industry partners, sharing intelligence, information and best practices.

Considering alternative ways to communicate with harder to reach communities and demographics to meet their commitment of reaching more socially isolated individuals. Such as:

•                     Working with partners to deliver face to face fraud & cybercrime awareness sessions as well as producing written protect messaging material, both in multiple languages.

•                     Working with blind/partially sighted charities to produce protect messaging material in brail/audio alternatives.

•                     Delivering/recording fraud & cybercrime awareness sessions translated in to British Sign Language.

Ensuring protect messaging is delivered across all platforms to reach all demographics. This includes, but is not limited to, visits to victims to prevent re-victimisation, protect messaging leaflet drops, media campaigns, collaborating with the partners to put campaign material in premises/ online and education e.g. post offices on banking protocol, financial institutions on warning signs of fraud and Police Community Support Officers / Student Link Officers.

Problems with evidence and disclosure in the prosecution of fraud cases

West Midlands Police has stated they have no significant issues with evidence and disclosure in fraud cases.

What can be done to make it easier to investigate frauds conducted on the UK public from abroad?

The Lead Force Operation Room at The City of London Police are making significant strides in partnership working with other nations to make the investigation of foreign cases easier. However, considering the limited resources available, this course of action is often prolonged.

WMP are working to improve education in this respect to reduce the impact on victims.

Progress in relation to the Government’s Fraud Strategy and the Crown Prosecution Service’s Economic Crime Strategy.

As stated above CPS are very effective once the complex team is engaged, outside of this there is still a need for knowledge of the Fraud Investigation model to be improved.

February 2022