A new report reveals a shocking truth: the UK police forces are failing to capitalize on the vast resources and expertise available in the private and non-profit sectors to combat the soaring levels of economic crime. Perpetuity Research and the Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime at the University of Portsmouth have uncovered a massive, untapped opportunity that could significantly strengthen the police’s response to this growing threat.
The alarming epidemic of economic crime
The report says economic crime in the UK reached “unprecedented” levels over the last decade, putting triple what UK law enforcement budgets programmed to handle and an increasing, diversified and uncertain portfolio of crimes.
The press release stated that 26% of adults in the UK (14 million people) commit at least one economic crime every year, making this likely the best new dataset we have for estimating the prevalence of white-collar crime. This is an alarming fact that emphasizes how desperately things need to change in the war on terror.
Privatization Potentials
The report points out that the police are wasting an important opportunity to simply not using all of the private and this public sector expertise that is on offer. Thousands of professionals are spent in these sectors, mostly from banks, insurance co’s and other financial institutions who are dedicated to anti-fraud works. Moreover, non-profits provide expert knowledge and tools that could further public policing efforts.
Yet the authors of the report note that this reservoir of experience is barely visible and virtually unused by police forces – a colossal missed opportunity when it comes to tackling white collar crime. Before the researchers mapped it out as part of their study, there was simply no central repository of this information (the report signifies).
Challenges to Effective Collaboration — A Way Ahead
The report spells out many obstacles that have traditionally impeded fuller engagement between the police and external partners. This includes conflicting goals, lack of trust and just an overall dislike to share data for risk of stepping on the line data laws can offer with a competitive advantage.
The report calls for law enforcement agencies to leverage their limited resources, focusing on smarter ways of proactively tackling these challenges with the private sector and not-for-profit organisations. In so doing, they are likely to unleash a treasure trove of undeveloped resources that exist in the form of unique skills and experience, new sources of funding, and innovative ideas tested in contexts outside the government. It would better resource the police to fight economic crime, make us safer, and contribute to the national effort on policing more generally.
