NCJ Number
218872
Journal
Crime Prevention & Community Safety: An International Journal Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 92-101
Date Published
April 2007
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the effectiveness of the effort to professionalize counter fraud staff in the United Kingdom through the development of the Counter Fraud Specialist (CFS).
Abstract
The brief evaluation indicated that while the CFS has been successful due to its increasing status in the counter fraud community, several recommendations can be made to improve the CFS. The evaluation also revealed that while many civilians have received ACFS status, they perceived their training to be inadequate to prepare them for their duties and many failed to take advantage of further educational opportunities. Recommendations for improvement include increasing training requirements for the award of “Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist” (ACFS), as well as general enhancement of the status and professionalism of the ACFS awards. The authors speculate increasing civilianization of the police force in the United Kingdom, including an increased use of civilians for fraud investigations through the CFS model. CFSs are civilian fraud investigators working mainly in the public sector in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), local authorities, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the National Health Service (NHS), and many others. The CFS is now the largest fraud investigative resource in the United Kingdom. The authors review the training and education of the CFS and offer a brief evaluation of the program thus far. Figures, tables, references