Action Fraud: Lincolnshire Police has joined the world’s first scheme aimed at reducing the cost and burden on police officers filling in forms related to online fraud.
Detective Sergeant Ian Jarman, of the Lincolnshire Police Economic Crime Unit, said that joining Action Fraud will provide an enhanced service to victims of fraud.
Lincolnshire Police has joined the world’s first scheme aimed at reducing the cost and burden on police officers filling in forms related to online fraud.
From boiler rooms to eBay scams, fraud is big business, particularly online, and the latest national figures suggest it is a £73 billion a year crime — based only on the crimes that are reported and recorded.
Set up and run by the National Fraud Authority, Action Fraud is a one-stop reporting centre which will handle reports of volume fraud from March 2013.
Lincolnshire Police, along with other East Midlands forces, joined the scheme on January 1.
Instead of local officers taking reports themselves – at an estimated 15 minutes per report – victims will be asked to report the crime to Action Fraud, either by phone or online.
Information from businesses, members of the public and charities will then be sent on by Action Fraud to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which also receives information about possible fraud from the police, banks and government, among others.
This national body of information will then be assessed, with an expectation that only 15% of it will then translate into crimes requiring investigation. It will then send packages for investigation to local forces, national agencies (SOCA) or others (Department of Work and Pensions).
Every month, the NFIB will send reports to all forces setting out the profile of crime reports and information to ensure Forces have a clear picture of what is happening locally. Additionally, the monthly reports will contain information about national threats and trends.
Currently, on-line shopping and auction fraud is the most common type of crime report.
The only exception to the new national process will be “crimes in action”. Such reports will still need to be managed by host forces to whom the reports are first made and recorded as such on local systems. Once taken, these crime in action reports will need to “keyed in” to the national Action Fraud website by officers.
Detective Sergeant Ian Jarman, of the Lincolnshire Police Economic Crime Unit, said that joining Action Fraud will provide an enhanced service to victims of fraud:
“Where the victim is reporting a crime in action, or is assessed to be vulnerable, we will continue to deal with the report as normal. But for all other such reports, the victim will make contact with Action Fraud, via the telephone or by logging on to its website. Based on the experiences of the pilot forces, it estimated that the new reporting system will save Lincolnshire Officers in excess of 500 hours per year from taking reports from alleged victims.”
“It is estimated that only 15% of all information reported actually constitutes a crime requiring investigation, and the NFIB will send packages for investigation to the most appropriate authority – SOCA, the central e-crime unit, the Department of Work and Pensions or individual forces,” Detective Jarman explained.
“Clearly, such a system has the potential to save us hundreds of hours spent filling in reports. It provides the public throughout the UK with just one point of reference, and will mean that our time is spent conducting actionable investigations and preventing scams, rip-offs and cons in the first place.”
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We are saddened to report that a 27-year-old man has lost his life in a road traffic collision today (2nd December).
We were called shortly after 7pm to reports of a road traffic collision involving a motorcycle at Station Road, Tydd Gote. Despite the efforts of medical staff, the man was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
The A1101 was closed at around 7:40pm.
We are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the collision to contact us immediately. If you were driving in the area at the time and captured dashcam footage, we would like to hear from you. There are a number of ways to get in touch.
By calling 101 quoting incident 346 of today’s date.
We are appealing for witnesses following a serious collision on the A1.
Officers received reports of a two-vehicle collision at 5:41pm involving a black BMW X5 and a silver Citroen C5.
The driver of the BMW sustained minor injuries and the driver of the Citroen sustained serious injuries. Both were taken to hospital.
| Photo: RSM Photography
| Photo: RSM Photography
The A1 remains closed in both directions while emergency services are dealing with the incident.
We would like to hear from you if you witnessed the collision or were driving in the area at the time and captured dashcam footage. If you can help, there are a number of ways you can get in touch.
By calling 101 quoting incident 304 of today’s date.
Children at a Lincoln school were treated to a PE session led by Team GB medallist Sam Oldham.
The pupils at Lincoln Carlton Academy were specially selected by Persimmon Homes South Yorkshire to enjoy the unique training session as part of the housebuilder’s partnership with Team GB.
Gymnast Sam Oldham, who won a team bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games, was guest of honour at the school where the pupils completed a warmup session, an obstacle as well as admire his medal and Olympic torch.
Year 1 teacher, Leah Catten said: “It has been wonderful to welcome Sam to our school. We aim to give each child the best start in life so they can succeed with confidence and Sam’s inspiring session helped the children to understand that anything is possible, if you work hard.
“He talked about uncovering his own potential and that’s what we want for our pupils. He has been absolutely wonderful, and the children were amazed by his back flip.”
Sam said: “It was wonderful to be working with the children.
“It feels great to give back at the end of my career. I am approaching my final chapter, but these guys are just starting out.
“I never had an athlete come to my school to talk about the amazing things sport can do for you, so hopefully the kids will feel really inspired today to get into sport because it is so important for their mental and physical health – maybe some of them could even be Lincolnshire Olympians of the future.”
Alastair Hart, sales director of Persimmon Homes South Yorkshire, added: “The school is not far from our Greetwell Fields development, and we are always keen to support the communities where we are building.”
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