Responding to the Government’s Fraud Strategy, launched today at Guildhall, the City of London Corporation’s headquarters:

Commissioner of the City of London Police, Pete O'Doherty, and City of London Corporation Policy Chairman, Chris Hayward, said:

“This strategy is a major step forward in the fight against fraud - a crime that devastates lives and undermines the UK’s economic security.

“The City of London Police is at the centre of the fightback. Our specialist expertise, national reach, and recently launched Report Fraud service make us uniquely equipped to tackle fraud, economic, and cyber-crime at scale.

“That leadership is backed by the City Corporation’s £600m Salisbury Square development, delivering a state-of-the-art policing facility and justice quarter to strengthen the UK’s response.”

About the City of London Corporation:

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile, dedicated to supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally successful UK – www.cityoflondon.gov.uk.

• The City of London Police is an effective police service, and the Square Mile is one of the safest areas of the country - important for the UK’s prosperity and economic security.
• The City Police’s latest PEEL assessment report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services puts it amongst the highest performing police services in the country. 
• For its workforce population of 678, 000, the City has an effective crime rate of 0.01 per capita per year, far below that of surrounding boroughs with a positive outcome rate well above the national average.
• The City of London is an internationally important financial and professional services hub, a sector that contributes £110bn or 12% of the UK’s total tax receipts, and is home to 1 in 5 financial services jobs in the UK. Its safety and security are vital preconditions to attracting inward investment and so driving economic growth.
• The City Police, as the National Lead Force for fraud, is key to making a strategic impact on fraud and cyber crime.  It is a genuine centre of expertise and has – uniquely - capabilities dealing with the entirety of the problem from reporting, through investigation, to prosecution and in terms of victim care. This does not exist anywhere else in the policing ‘system’.
• The City of London Police has relationships with the private sector which no other force has – key given the need for industrial-scale crime prevention to successfully reduce fraud.
• The City police’s lead force role is vital, given the strong backing from the City Corporation, its deep connections with the private sector, and its unique proximity to the financial and professional services sector concentrated in the Square Mile.
• The City of London Corporation underpins the force’s leadership. Our £600 million investment – with no taxpayer contribution – in the Salisbury Square development, is the most recent example. Due to be completed next year, it will feature 18 new courts dedicated to prosecuting economic crime alongside a new City of London Police headquarters, expand capacity across the criminal justice system, improve outcomes for victims, and reinforce the UK’s global leadership in legal and financial services.
• The City Corporation has provided major financial support to the development and launch of Report Fraud, including a £13.2 million contribution. We will contribute £2.5 million per year towards the ongoing running costs of the service, underlining our long-term commitment to tackling fraud, supporting victims, and strengthening the UK’s economic security.
• We support the City of London Police’s local and national functions to the tune of £37m of revenue funding and benefit in kind provision – including free accommodation - per year.