2020 Publications

Fraud is a serious, underestimated and unchecked problem. Every public body is an active target for fraudsters. Unfortunately, public bodies do not always consider fraud when conducting their activities. Even when fraud is considered, public bodies can find it difficult to define, measure and articulate the problem without guidance. In addition, the focus can be too centred on financial loss. In reality, the impact of fraud goes well beyond this.

The likelihood of the police bringing someone to justice following a criminal investigation is decreasing. In England and Wales, a suspect was charged in 7.8 percent of recorded crimes last year, down from 9.1 percent the year before. There has also been a notable increase in the proportion of crimes closed because the victim does not support, or no longer supports, a prosecution. This rose to 22.6 percent of recorded crime last year, up from 20 percent the year before. Efficiency is a thread that runs through every aspect of policing. It is wider than just responding to calls for service. Forces need to have a deeper understanding of demand, which includes improving the quality of service at first contact and making sure their workforces have the skills and capabilities needed to meet their understood and predicted demand. Forces need to improve their understanding of capacity to make sure they are maximising the opportunities that a highly skilled workforce can bring.

Open publication

”In the current economic environment, disruption, change and uncertainty are all triggers that can lead to an increase in the risk of fraud and businesses should have heightened awareness of their fraud controls. The general economic uncertainty will put pressure on usually law abiding staff to take risks they might not ever have normally taken. Consequently many businesses face an increased ‘threat from within’ coupled with a seemingly exponential rise in external threats. Employers need to be more robust with screening for new employees and third parties. Individuals who have inside knowledge of a business will often be the ones to identify the soft spots of a company’s defences for their own advantage.”

https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/uk/pdf/2020/01/fraud-barometer-2019.pdf