Police acknowledges the findings of an Independent Police Conduct authority (IPCA) review into the Police management of fraud allegations.
Police welcomes the opportunity the report provides to have the conversation on how Police, with support from other agencies and the private sector, can reduce the prevalence of fraud in New Zealand and improve the experience of victims of fraud.
We will consider the recommendations in the IPCA report alongside the findings of the internal review on fraud Police undertook last year to identify opportunities for improvement.
The Minister of Police has sought joint advice from Police and the Serious Fraud Office on how the system response to fraud might be improved.
We know that incidents of fraud and particularly cyber enabled fraud, continue to be an issue globally for law enforcement.
Given the scale and nature of the problem, prevention measures are of primary importance in reducing victimisation.
To be successful will require increased awareness and a collective effort to make fraud offending harder and higher risk for offenders.
We accept that we could do more to meet victims’ expectations around investigation and resolution of fraud.
In New Zealand, Police receives a large volume of complaints, and we also acknowledge there is significant under-reporting of crime types such as cybercrime and fraud.
We are also working to improve our visibility and processes around fraud.
Police assess complaints against certain criteria to help prioritise offences for investigation, which includes targeting repeat offenders and cases with vulnerable victims.
This helps us target our efforts on the areas that will do the most to reduce the harm fraud causes in our communities, as we aim to maintain high service levels to communities across the country.
