HC Deb 06 July 2000 vol 353 cc302-5W
Mr. Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fraud cases were investigated in each police authority area in(a) 1979, (b) 1983, (c) 1987, (d) 1992 and (e) each year since 1995; what was the clear-up rate in each year; and what estimate he has made of the value of such fraud in each year since 1995. [129129]

Mr. Charles Clarke

Fraud offences comprise part of the offence group covering both fraud and forgery. The number of fraud and forgery offences recorded in the years requested in each police force, and the clear-up rate, are given in the tables.

The counting rules for recorded crime changed from 1 April 1998. The effect on the number of fraud and forgery offences recorded was substantial, resulting in an estimated increase of 61 per cent. due to counting rules changes in England and Wales as a whole.

The Economic Cost of Fraud, a report for the Home Office and the Serious Fraud Office, will be published by National Economic Research Associates (NERA) on Tuesday 11 July. The report will provide estimates of expenditure on investigations, court proceedings and preventative measures, and the amounts of money defrauded across all sectors of the economy, for the years 1997 and 1998.

Fraud and forgery offences
1979 1983 1987 1992
Police force Offences recorded Clear-up rate (%) Offences recorded Clear-up rate (%) Offences recorded Clear-up rate (%) Offences recorded Clear-up rate (%)
Wiltshire 1,046 80 1,023 76 851 66 1,711 66
Dyfed-Powys 1,019 96 1,116 93 1,660 91 906 79
Gwent 1,262 96 1,292 91 1,479 92 1,095 72
North Wales 2,125 90 1,615 85 1,949 87 1,354 66
South Wales 2,955 92 2,923 83 3,339 74 3,819 43
Total 118,033 82 121,791 69 132,976 67 168,600 53

Fraud and forgery offences
1995 1996 1997 1998–99
Police force Offences recorded Clear-up rate (%) Offences recorded Clear-up rate (%) Offences recorded Clear-up rate (%) Offences recorded Clear-up rate (%)
Avon and Somerset 4,017 45 4,293 49 3,584 44 9,950 39
Bedfordshire 1,781 37 2,033 49 1,799 41 4,114 27
Cambridgeshire 1,369 41 1,498 44 1,391 42 2,389 42
Cheshire 2,639 79 2,359 83 1,845 80 2,146 72
Cleveland 1,481 53 1,475 46 1,425 34 2,261 41
Cumbria 930 70 995 67 1,099 68 1,388 78
Derbyshire 1,399 46 1,355 44 1,308 48 4,200 48
Devon and Cornwall 2,674 57 2,374 59 2,232 59 7,064 47
Dorset 1,501 68 1,303 64 1,300 65 6,334 51
Durham 1,661 62 1,279 64 1,163 75 1,311 74
Essex 2,465 42 2,485 41 2,443 44 4,366 41
Gloucestershire 1,986 52 1,652 48 1,517 49 2,527 50
Greater Manchester 5,840 48 5,532 42 5,773 39 15,830 41
Hampshire 3,892 59 3,907 58 3,781 60 5,130 61
Hertfordshire 1,232 47 1,237 47 1,345 39 2,312 46
Humberside 2,966 52 2,610 44 2,316 55 3,582 54
Kent 3,627 44 3,155 54 2,932 47 5,687 42
Lancashire 3,484 77 3,446 73 3,412 70 4,446 63
Leciestershire 2,681 47 3,365 52 2,870 46 7,227 39
Lincolnshire 1,163 63 1,148 61 1,382 78 2,723 78
City of London 488 51 439 54 502 42 862 36
Merseyside 4,259 64 4,288 60 4,269 59 4,884 59
Metropolitan police district 32,838 46 38,983 45 42,687 41 80,541 15
Norfolk 1,345 62 1,251 62 1,045 74 2,488 63
Northamptonshire 1,217 61 1,246 63 1,266 76 4,425 39
Northumbria 2,606 43 2,109 44 2,221 46 4,991 58
North Yorkshire 1,032 55 1,052 58 980 55 2,563 67
Nottinghamshire 3,701 34 3,352 36 2,874 36 4,736 32
South Yorkshire 2,524 35 2,651 32 2,367 40 3,951 59
Staffordshire 1,905 46 2,004 50 2,200 55 3,830 44
Suffolk 1,243 70 1,333 69 1,116 74 2,099 49
Surrey 1,442 55 1,389 52 1,332 55 2,994 51
Sussex 2,763 57 2,815 56 2,994 54 7,790 25
Thames Valley 4,732 46 4,551 44 4,174 38 11,778 25
Warwickshire 901 51 975 51 898 51 2,401 38
West Mercia 1,739 50 1,894 44 1,881 39 3,961 57
West Midlands 7,624 27 6,365 33 4,844 44 15,675 31
West Yorkshire 4,818 55 5,071 55 5,244 55 10,608 45
Wiltshire 1,012 63 920 56 830 53 1,933 56
Dyfed-Powys 577 84 604 75 482 82 1,402 86
Gwent 933 71 1,305 64 1,415 65 2,395 67
North Wales 1,130 71 1,022 68 844 68 1,869 74
South Wales 3,399 33 3,105 38 3,016 36 6,340 44
Total 133,016 50 136,225 49 134,398 48 279,503 36

Mr. Cousins

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of credit card fraud there have been in each year since 1995; what the clean up rate was in each year; and if he will make a statement on the outcome of his recent meeting with credit card systems and providers. [129128]

Mr. Charles Clarke

A separate recorded crime figure for cheque and credit card fraud has been collected since 1 April 1998. The number of offences in the year ending March 1999 was 141,948, with the clear-up rate for these offences being 31 per cent.

On 27 June, I chaired a constructive and positive meeting with cheque and credit card systems providers, retailers and law enforcement agencies. The discussion was wide-ranging: information-sharing, cross-border co-operation, the European and international dimension to fraud, the role of law enforcement agencies, hotspots, education and training were all given serious consideration.

It was agreed that, in addition to the work already being taken forward by the banking and retail industries on the development of new technologies, the Home Office would lead work on information sharing and the involvement of the relevant law enforcement agencies, with a particular remit to consider how to target and tackle hotspots. The group will reconvene in autumn to review progress.