Introduction to Fraud Investigation

Day 1

• Background to legislation; statute, common and case law (judicial precedent); offence terminology; interpretation of expressions; and ‘points to prove’ summary
• Role of the Crown Prosecution Service and the two tests
• Review of key offences relating to fraud -Theft Act, Criminal Attempts Act, Criminal Law Act and Bribery Act, definition of dishonesty, false accounting, mens rea, burden and standard of proof
• Ethics and standards

Day 2

• ‘What is an offence of fraud’: identification of key factors
• Determining the investigation pathway: matching the criminal activity to the right offence
• Intelligence-led investigation; investigative intelligence; National Intelligence Model (NIM) and working in partnership

Day 3

• Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
• The investigation rules and procedural legislation: what you can and cannot do as an investigator!
• Human Rights Act, Criminal Procedures Investigations Act, Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, application of reasonable and proportionate approaches
• Safety and security of information: freedom of information (FoI), public interest disclosure
• Equality and investigations

Day 4

• Fraud Investigation Model - the intelligence-led Investigation Model (Intelligence Cycle); and the referral process
• Collection plans -building effective plans to identify key information and evidence
• Introduction to case management
• Mapping for investigation

Day 5

• Data protection and fairness considerations
• Evaluating data, information, and criminal intelligence – the 3x5x2 system
• Investigative risk assessment
• Reporting and case conferences

Assessment

• 2 Multiple choice question tests - completed online
• An assignment where you explore and identify how intelligence supports fraud investigations