Alright, so like, last year there were 4.1 million victims of fraud, but get this – only 3,641 cases actually led to charges. That’s like, a super low number considering the scale of the issue. The police in Britain are apparently not really equipped to handle fraud, which makes up like, 43% of all crimes now. And get this, half of the police officers don’t even think they have the skills to investigate scams properly. Crazy, right?
The Police Foundation, a think tank, is all like, “Yo, the government needs to create a national Crime Prevention Agency to deal with fraud and cybercrime.” They’re also saying that private companies should be legally required to share data to help stop crimes. Oh, and they want fraud policing to be a big deal, like on the same level as organized crime and counter-terrorism. The report author, Michael Skidmore, is like, “We’re stuck with this old-school policing system trying to handle super high-tech, cross-border crimes.” So yeah, not really sure why this matters, but it seems like a big deal.
So, like, the official stats show that fraud is a massive issue, costing society billions each year. But even with 4.1 million victims, only a tiny fraction of cases actually lead to charges. The Police Foundation is all about creating a new national body to tackle fraud, with a dedicated budget and powers to task local agencies. They want more collaboration with the private sector and are calling for an increase in skills to fight fraud better. It seems like everyone is on board with the idea that the current system just ain’t cutting it. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like something needs to change, like, ASAP.
