April 29th marks the fifth anniversary of the Dedicated
Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) and represents a significant
milestone in the history of the UK’s ongoing fight against organised
fraud. The DCPCU is a specialist police unit, fully sponsored by APACS,
which works with police forces across the country to tackle plastic card
and cheque fraud. The Unit is jointly resourced, with APACS and its
member banks providing fraud investigators and administrators who work
alongside officers from the City of London and Metropolitan Police forces.
The DCPCU was launched on 29 April 2002 as a two-year pilot and,
following the successful conclusion of this trial, it was established as
a permanent Unit with an ongoing brief to help stamp out organised card
and cheque fraud. Since its inception, the DCPCU has been responsible
for more than ÃÂã130 million in savings from reduced fraud activity and
has recovered more than 125,000 counterfeit cards and card numbers. The
Unit has also secured 156 convictions and made almost 400 arrests on
fraud related matters.
Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said:
“The Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit has been an important
initiative to cut fraud over the last five years and I am delighted at
the successes they have had.
“When I visited the Unit with the Home Secretary earlier this year I was
impressed by the professionalism and dedication shown by the employees
and the ÃÂã130million of fraud prevented is a testament to all their hard
work and effort.
“The banking industry must also take credit for these successes. Their
financial support for this Unit provides an excellent example of how a
public/private partnership can work together to create a valuable
addition to law enforcement when tackling organised financial crime.”
The DCPCU is now headed by Detective Chief Inspector John Folan who
replaced DCI Roger Cook in January of this year. John has twenty years’
experience in law enforcement and brings a wealth of knowledge to his
new role. Commenting on his recent appointment DCI Folan said:
“I look forward to the challenges that this new role presents and am
keen to build on the impressive successes that the Unit has already
achieved.
“Having worked for the City of London and Metropolitan Police Forces in
a wide variety of criminal investigation roles – including the Fraud
Squad – I have seen first-hand the effects that the work of organised
criminal gangs can have on individuals, businesses and on the economy as
a whole. It is clear from the outstanding results that the Unit has
achieved over the past five years that the DCPCU is a valuable asset in
the ongoing fight against fraud.”
During 2007, the banking industry also plans to merge its Fraud
Intelligence Bureau – the body that distributes information and
intelligence between the banking industry and law enforcement throughout
the UK – with the intelligence section of the DCPCU to create a Payments
Industry and Police Joint Intelligence Unit. The combined unit will
have increased funding and a wider remit to address all types of payment
industry fraud.
