The policing, investigation and governance of ‘Rogue Trader’ fraud: Whose responsibility?

Abstract

This Rogue Trader fraud study examines questionnaire data from 26 England and Wales police force intelligence branches (FIB) and trading standards focus group data. Findings highlight police disinclination to investigate and prosecute rogue trader ‘fraud’ due to its low priority; the complexity of level two criminality and stretched police resources, all exacerbated by poor application of the Fraud Act 2006. Placing artifice crimes on separate NPCC portfolios reduces the scope to identify patterns in crime series offending, fragmenting the intelligence picture. Whilst this crime lacks an enforcement arm and straddles trading standards and police remits, rogue trader remains ‘nobody’s problem’.