SCOTLAND risks falling behind the rest of the UK in the fight against card fraud, police have warned.
The Scotsman has learned there are no plans to include Scotland in the UK's first dedicated fraud intelligence centre.
The Attorney General is driving forward plans for a national fraud reporting centre, which aims to provide police with intellig
ence on fraud to help them track down criminals. The centre, expected to open next spring, will analyse reports from the public, helping to reverse what the government describes as "chronic under-reporting" of the crime. The centre will also build up intelligence to help spot repeat offenders.
But the Attorney General's Office has revealed there are currently no plans to take reports from people in Scotland, or feed intelligence back to the country's eight police forces. That has raised fears among detectives and other experts that card fraud will continue to soar.
Scotland will also not be covered by a new National Fraud Strategic Authority, which will coordinate efforts to tackle fraud. The creation of both bodies was recommended in a 2006 government fraud review.
According to the most recent figures, the value of card fraud in Scotland increased 16 per cent to over £11.5 million last year. But the real figure is likely to be much higher, with millions of pounds worth of fraud taking place overseas using cards held in Scotland. Last year, overseas fraud on UK-issued cards topped £207m, more than double the 2004 figure.
Police say the fact that card fraud crosses international and regional boundaries makes it difficult to solve.
Part of the problem is the lack of clear rules in Scotland over which force should investigate card fraud.
"If a card was stolen in Irvine, and then used in Peterhead and Dundee, it's not clear which police force should take the lead," says one police officer, who does not wish to be named.
"In England they have introduced counting rules which make it clear which authority is responsible. In Scotland, it's far less clear. This means that sometimes it takes longer to sort out who will take the lead," he says.
The officer, who specialises in fraud investigation, adds: "There seems to be a doubt over whether Scotland will be involved in the new national fraud reporting centre. That would be a serious worry."
A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office says: "The initiatives stemming from the fraud review do not specifically cover Scotland.
"However fraudsters do not respect borders; they are only interested in taking people's money. So we are liaising with colleagues in the Scottish Government and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland to ensure we are benefiting from each other's experiences."
A report on fraud by Paddy Tomkins, Scotland's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, is expected to identify a number of shortcomings in the way the problem is tackled when it is published tomorrow.
A Scottish Government spokesman says: "We are in discussions with the UK government about whether, and if so how, Scotland should be involved in the National Fraud Reporting Centre and other aspects of the fraud review, in particular around the issue of UK-wide intelligence sharing."
The full article contains 534 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
