§ Lord Burtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Burlison on 29 April (WA 63), what steps they have taken to evaluate the economic crime units set up by some European police forces (for example, Sweden) to tackle such subjects as fraud; and why they have not introduced such units into United Kingdom police forces. [HL2382]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)We are aware of the Swedish Economic Crime Unit in general terms and understand that it has some similarities to the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom as it has both an investigating and prosecuting function. Both the Association of Chief Police Officers and the National Crime Intelligence Service are also aware of its work. However, the position in the United Kingdom is very different as the responsibility for economic crime is spread across a number of central and local government and privately funded organisations. The Swedish Economic Crime Unit has only recently been established so it is too early to evaluate whether the Swedish model is likely to offer any improvement to the arrangements that have been developed here over the years.