The chair of the City of London Police Authority Board has warned that fraud is “damaging the foundations of our nation” and the UK must treat it with the same urgency as street crime.
Speaking at the Police Authority Board dinner on Wednesday, City AM can reveal that Tijs Broeke told senior police, business, and political leaders that “security and prosperity are inseparable”.
“The scale of the challenge is stark. In the past year alone, UK businesses faced more than 8.5m cyber incidents. That’s around 23 thousand every single day,” he said.
The dinner followed the appointment of the former justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, as home secretary.
Over the last year, the City of London Police has stated that it saved the financial industry £55.5m in losses.
While its dedicated card and payment crime unit has prevented £800m worth of fraud since its creation.
The City of London Corporation’s Court of Common Council is the Police Authority for the Square Mile. The Court delegates this duty to the Police Authority Board. The Board is responsible for holding the Commissioner to account.
UK fraud impact
A report earlier this year stated that every business in the UK will be impacted by fraud. One lawyer stated that “fraud is endemic. It is getting worse, and it does not get the airtime it deserves”.
Within the City, the £600m Salisbury Square development, funded by the City of London Corporation, will deliver a new City of London Police HQ, which will include 18 courtrooms dedicated to tackling fraud, cybercrime, and economic crime.
Along with the focus on treating fraud like street crime, Broeke called for the UK government to support making fraudsters pay by seizing illicit funds and reinvesting them in enforcement and victim care.
“We must hit criminals where it hurts – in their wallets. We must turbo-charge civil recovery, seize crypto faster, and reinvest recovered funds into enforcement and victim care. Every pound recovered is a pound that cannot fund the next scam or hostile state attack,” he added.