Investigation Statistics

The UK's poor response to fraud and urgent need for reform is borne out in the statistics

2%


  • Fraud receives only 2 percent of police resources, despite it being the most common crime in England and Wales (See; Fraud and the Justice System”, House of Commons Committee report, 18 October 2022.)


14,609


  • The number of arrests for fraud offences has declined from 14,609 in 2015/16 to 4,956 in 2022/23 (See: Fraud and the Justice System”, House of Commons Committee report, 18 October 2022.) 


497days


  • Delays in bringing cases to conclusion have doubled in the past eight years, with the average case now taking 497 days to complete from charge (See: The Guardian, 11 June 2023)


20/240


  • The Public Accounts Committee report published on 28 February 2024 noted a significant reduction in criminal prosecutions by HMRC, from 691 in 2019-20 to 240 in 2022-23 and described customer service levels as at an "all time low" (See: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/127/public-accounts-committee/news/200074/alltime-low-hmrc-customer-service-deteriorates-amid-taxpayers-exasperation/ )



Fraud in numbers

£137BN


Fraud and cyber experts Crowe LLP reported that fraud costs the UK £137bn a year, broadly equivalent to 6% of GDP. Crowe comments that reducing fraud by 40% would free up almost £55bn a year, more than the UK spending on defence.

£20BN


The Financial Times reported that the first half of 2019 saw more than double the number of investment banking fraud cases than in 2018. Industry estimates from the Police Foundation believe the true value to run at around £4bn each year. 

£10BN


The Pensions Scams Industry Group reported in 2018 that Pension Scams account for approximately 5% of all fraud and that £10BN has probably been lost to pension scammers with 10,000 people affected each year.