Law enforcement responses to organised fraud

This research aims to better understand the nature of organised fraud which impacts and/or has a footprint in the UK and the law enforcement response to it. It is estimated that 70% of fraud in the UK ‘originates abroad or has an international element’. Further, the research will take a comparative look at how the law enforcement response to organised fraud is structured and delivered in jurisdictions outside of the UK. The overarching aim of the project is to import best practice to the UK and to support the development of a more coordinated response to tackling organised fraud in the UK and other countries. 

To achieve this aim, the research will address the following questions: 

1. What are the ways in which fraud is ‘organised’ in the UK?
2. What are the strategic and operational implications of fraud’s ‘organised’ nature for law enforcement in the UK and how is the law enforcement response structured across different tiers of policing (e.g. at a regional, national and international levels), in terms of resources, capabilities, policies and protocols?
3. How does the UK’s law enforcement response to organised fraud compare to the (regional, national and international) responses in a select number of other jurisdictions?
4. Based on the answers to the above research questions, how could UK law enforcement develop, in partnership with other jurisdictions, a more effective, coordinated, cross-border response to organised fraud?

The project will combine a desk-based review of existing literature and policy documents, interviews with law enforcement and professionals involved in responding to organised fraud in the UK and five other countries. 

Project duration: 1 April 2025 – 30 October 2026