Flourishing fraud

Even allowing for the introduction of new counting rules, the Home Office’s recorded crime statistics for England and Wales in the year to September 1999 show a steep rise of 29.1 per cent in recorded fraud and forgery offences. This follows a ten per cent rise in the previous year. The new rules allow inclusion of unreported cheque and credit card offences which are discovered by police in subsequent investigations. Some police forces have also revised their reporting procedures for cheque and credit card fraud which has further boosted the figures. The rise compares to a 2.2 per cent increase in the overall level of reported crime for the same period.