The Department acknowledged that the current police resourcing levels for fraud needed to increase. In April 2022, we reported on the Department’s Police Uplift Programme which aimed to recruit 20,000 new police officers.27 However, as set out in our sister Committee’s report, only 380 of these 20,000 officers (around 2%) will specialise in fraud. The City of London Police told us that forces were willing to investigate fraud but that the issue was often the availability of resources. It expl...

The Department acknowledged that the current police resourcing levels for fraud needed to increase. In April 2022, we reported on the Department’s Police Uplift Programme which aimed to recruit 20,000 new police officers.27 However, as set out in our sister Committee’s report, only 380 of these 20,000 officers (around 2%) will specialise in fraud. The City of London Police told us that forces were willing to investigate fraud but that the issue was often the availability of resources. It explained that many chief constables ask what they were expected to stop doing in order to deal with fraud otherwise they needed more resources. It told us, Type: conclusion | Number: 13 | Response status: not_addressed Government response: 4. PAC conclusion: The Department has failed to support police forces to build the capacity or skills they need to tackle fraud effectively. 4. PAC recommendation: The Department should outline, as part of its Treasury Minute response, how it will increase both th