Responding to the Government’s White Paper on police reform, Chair of the City of London Police Authority, Tijs Broeke and City of London Police Commissioner and National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Cyber and Economic Crime, Pete O’Doherty, said:

“We support the Government’s ambition for more effective policing and welcome the White Paper’s recognition of the City of London Police’s unique expertise in fraud and economic crime.

“As the National Lead Force for Fraud, the City police, supported by the City Corporation, play a vital role in tackling cyber crime, protecting the UK’s economic security, keeping the Square Mile safe, and supporting the Government’s ambitions for growth and public safety.

“The White Paper roadmap should reflect this role and unique partnership, and we look forward to working constructively with Government on its police reform ambitions.

“It’s important to note that while the National Crime Agency, which already leads the system-wide response to economic crime, including serious and organised fraud - is proposed to move into the National Police Service, this does not result in any immediate change to the policing response to fraud currently led by the City Police.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

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.

ENDS