§ Lord Burtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Up to this date:
- (a) in which police constabulary areas in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, there have been, or are, investigations into fraud in connection with the Firearms Act 1997 Compensation Scheme;
- (b) how many police officers and civilians, and of what grade, are or have now been suspended, giving dates and the relevant constabulary name in each case; and
- (c) how many suspended police officers and civilians, and of what grade, have since been reinstated, giving the dates and the relevant constabulary name in each case. [HL1765]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)Pursuant to my reply of 18 March(WA 202–203), we are now aware of one further investigation into potential fraud in relation to firearms compensation claims, making six in all. The police areas concerned are: Nottinghamshire; South Yorkshire; Devon and Cornwall; Essex; the Metropolitan Police; and Thames Valley. In the South Yorkshire case, nine police officers (eight constables and a sergeant) and one civilian employee have now been suspended from duty pending the outcome of the investigation. The dates of suspension were 13 November, 12 December, 28 January, 18 February, 20 March (two officers) and 9, 20, 28 and 29 April. In the other cases, the investigations relate to the possibility of attempted deception by claimants, with no indication of police involvement. Two claimants have been prosecuted (resulting in one conviction and one case still pending), and in two other cases charges were withdrawn on the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service.
As I have said before, the number of attempted deceptions must be seen in the context of over 40,000 claims received, but these occurrences nevertheless reinforce the need for care and vigilance in the examination of claims by the Firearms Compensation Section.