Independent review turns to tackling Britain’s biggest crime

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Jonathan Fisher KC has begun work on Part Two of his Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences which marks the first independent review of fraud legislation in the UK since 1986. During this time, the nature and scale of fraud has evolved considerably, with fraud now constituting over 40% of all offences recorded by the Crime Survey for England and Wales.

Where Lord Roskill’s 1986 review focused mostly on the serious fraud committed by corporate entities, the huge increase in fraud offences over the last decade has come at the expense of ordinary consumers and small businesses, targeted by highly organised gangs, many of them based overseas.

The resulting harm to society is severe, with fraud against individuals in England and Wales alone recently estimated to cost more than £6.8 billion every year.

Fraud has also been transformed by the impact of modern technology, with the increasing use of artificial intelligence to create scambots, deepfakes and websites impersonating established businesses and public authorities. Fraud gangs have the ability to target tens of thousands of Britons every hour through social media, email and telephone and only need to persuade a small fraction of those individuals to fall for their scams in order to make millions of pounds.

The Home Office will place these emerging threats at the heart of its new, expanded fraud strategy to be published later this year but it will also be vital to have the independent analysis provided by Jonathan Fisher KC to inform the response required from government, law enforcement and industry. Also, with international cooperation to disrupt threats a key national security commitment within its Plan for Change, the government is also building a united global response as part of its strategy to tackle fraud.

Part Two of the Fisher Review will therefore examine the largest challenges faced by law enforcement in bringing criminals committing fraud offences to justice in England and Wales. Specifically, it will consider key issues in each following stage of the fraud life cycle:

• detection and reporting
• disruption
• investigation
• prosecution and offences
• courts
• penalties
• rehabilitation

This follows the publication of Part One of Jonathan Fisher KC’s review, Disclosure in the Digital Age, which recommended a range of measures to modernise the disclosure system and free up police time and which is now being taken forward by the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and the Attorney General’s Office.

Fraud Minister Lord Hanson said: "Fraud is a crime which can devastate lives and I am determined to do everything possible to bring these criminals to justice.

"I welcome Jonathan Fisher KC’s review which will help us expand our knowledge base about how to better detect, disrupt and deter fraudsters and deliver a swifter justice for the victims, as part of our Plan for Change.

"The government is determined to continue our fight against this appalling crime and I look forward to the outcome of this important review."

Attorney General Lord Hermer KC said: "Fraud is one of the most pernicious crimes. The criminals driving these schemes are using ever more sophisticated tactics to scam their victims. It is crucial that our criminal justice system keeps pace.

"Fraud doesn’t discriminate against age, gender or sex and it leaves victims suffering financial loss and emotional distress. I welcome this independent review of fraud and look forward to considering any findings as part of our Plan for Change."

Independent Review Chair, Jonathan Fisher KC said: "With the advances in digital technology, it has become much easier for fraudsters to avoid detection and indeed prosecution, outright.

"This review aims to scrutinise the main challenges in detecting, investigating and prosecuting fraud offences and what can be done to better equip law enforcement to deliver swifter justice for victims.

"I am greatly appreciative of the criminal justice system-wide engagement since the launch of this independent review and for the continued encouragement as I turn my focus to examine fraud offences."