Six of the Best

Here are half a dozen random thoughts on areas that we’ve been asked about a lot recently.

We’re all being asked to move to electronic applications for our services, but how does that work when it comes to prosecuting those who abuse the system? How can we tell a court that they’ve lied, when there’s no signature to prove it?

Here’s the good news – you don’t need a signature to prove a false statement, and there are plenty of ways to demonstrate they’ve applied for the service without one. There’s also some very helpful case law that shows the value (or otherwise) of a signature on a form.

Identity theft is on the up – and it remains one of the most popular ways of accessing public services unlawfully. It’s also a real problem with recruitment, both from people working illegally and criminals infiltrating the system.

On the plus side, it takes about 30 seconds, and couldn’t be EASIER to make basic checks to a passport. Look out for :

• Excessive wear and tear,
• Alterations,
• Stitching loose in the centre,
• Intaglio ink (often found on the inside front page),
• Edges of the pages showing beyond the cover and
• Removed or loose pages.

Google ‘Fraud Case Law’ and you get “About 16,300,000 results (0.62 seconds)”. That’s quite a lot to go through. Most of them are non-UK, ages old or not very relevant but there are still a few worth looking at.

A couple to consider are Croydon London Borough Council v Shanahan [2010] EWCA Crim 98 and R (Sedgefield Borough Council) v Dickinson [2009] EWHC 2758 (Admin) which deal with multiple offences and the burden of proof respectively.

Criminals love to get their dirty money clean, and one of the most common ways is to feed it into and out of a legitimate system. You’ll know this process by the common term of Money Laundering.

Did you know that your Authority should have appointed a Money Laundering Officer (do you know who that is?) and that you have a duty to report certain transactions to them? Look out for unusual transactions, high amounts of money and unexplained overpayments for council services, followed by refund requests.

Unless you’ve been away (or asleep) for the last year, you’ll know that there have been moves to review and update RIPA. Since the election the new coalition has suggested that there will be still more changes to come.

In the meantime, please be aware that there are some new rules and changes to definitions, and that new codes of practice have been issued for ‘Covert Surveillance and Property Interference’ and ‘Covert Human Intelligence Sources’. Visit www.ripatraining.org.uk to view or download.

You probably know that ‘Simple Cautions’ rules are in Home Office circular 16/2008, but are you using the new caution form? How is that modified by the benefits One Strike rule and what effect has the amendment to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 had?

Good news – you can still cite a caution in court and you can use it when making decisions. Bad news – unauthorised obtaining or disclosing can lead to a fine or imprisonment.