Fraud
Hotlines – A Success Story
It
is eleven o’clock in the morning. You have been in work for several hours and
you are still humming the last tune that you heard as you got out of your car.
Radio has a power that appears to make people listen. Adverts say that radio
advertising is four times more effective than any other media.
It appears that a Local Authority has now found this to be true.
On the coast of Cumbria sits Copeland Borough Council. There is an approximate
population of 25,000 covering a radius of forty square miles. The biggest
employer is British Nuclear Fuels Ltd at Sellafield and the largest town in the
borough Whitehaven makes up approximately forty percent of the total population.
The claimant base for this area is equivalent to most small local authorities,
approx 7,500.
On 12th April this year the investigations section launched its first
fraud hotline. Nothing unusual about this. Most LA’s have one and many have
been established for a long time showing excellent results.
During the first three months of this year a total of thirty-one referrals had
been received by Copeland’s investigation team. Within the first four weeks of
the hotline this number was doubled.
So, what has set
this hotline apart from the others? In my opinion it is that the hotline was
introduced combining several types of media. Not only was the standard hotline
poster issued to the local contact points but also via radio ads, business cards
and fraud awareness talks. These talks were not only to members of staff but
also other outside agencies. These have included the police, fire service and
local magistrates. Kirsten Mann, Senior Fraud Officer, at Copeland said, “We
will do awareness sessions for anybody that will listen. If there is a
possibility that they will come into contact with any type of fraud it is worth
making them aware of who they can contact to pass the information on.”
Normally Local Authority’s will introduce a fraud hotline by using posters,
issued to local area offices, and leaflets sent out with changes of circs and
award letters. At Copeland they have used radio advertising and this appears to
have been their greatest area of success. Only in the past have we heard adverts
from the DWP, which have yet to release official figures for the success of the
advertising campaign. I understand that Local Authority’s have budgets and
that money is tight. The cost of the advertising, which upon seeing the figures
appears to be expensive, was £1300 for four weeks. This gave air time exposure
of three times a week day, at peak times and weekends. This fee could be paid
for with the first successful prosecution that is taken forward from a hotline
referral.
Whilst
working at the council for a period I heard the advert several times on CFM, the
local station used to advertise on, and was amazed at the hotline ringing after
each advert with varying types of referral.
Further evidence to show the success of the advertising campaign and use of
radio advertising was highlighted when the radio stations coverage was tested
against the area covered by the Local Authority. Of the referrals received very
few had been received from Millom, a small town in the south of the area. CFM
does not cover the town. The town had received an equal number of business cards
and posters; does this show the power of radio?
With the area
saturated by these different types of media, they have also targeted the
campaign at those areas that will see a high number of visitors including
Doctor’s surgeries, Dentists waiting rooms and even the local Safeway’s. The
only place in Copeland that has remained advert free has been the pubs and
clubs. This decision was made as the authority felt that advertising in these
places could send out the wrong message and possibly produce spurious and
drunken referrals. Not to say that by leaving these areas out of the advertising
that this has reduced these types of referrals. Copeland like any other area
still gets the same old chestnuts rolled out. Some of the better ones have
included:
l
He gets on
and off the bus. But he receives Incapacity Benefit!!!
l
They have
three cars!!!!
l
She’s engaged you know; and
l
She goes
on holiday twice a year.
With
the radio advertising now finished and more referrals than the team of 4 (senior
investigator, 2 investigators and an investigations assistant) can cope with,
they plan a second phase in the next six months.
The
radio advert will be used again, but it is hoped that this time they can
introduce the number of successful prosecutions since the launch as well as
sanctions that have been administered.
With
this system working extremely effectively the way ahead seems to justify the
expense of this type of advertising. Radio seems to reach a wider populace and
obviously we prefer to listen nowadays than to use or eyes and read a poster.
To get
further information on radio advertising, local stations in your area and who to
contact go to www.rab.co.uk
The Radio
Advertising Bureau will give you all of the information you need to help you
spread the word.
Jody
Randall
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CPS
enter into partnership with CRE
The
Crown Prosecution Service has committed itself to new partnership arrangements
with the CRE designed to assist in its continued progress towards the
elimination of racial discrimination in the CPS. The partnership involves the
CRE lifting a suspended formal investigation into the CPS which had been started
nearly three years ago.
Under
the agreement the two organisations will work together to ensure that
non-discriminatory CPS recruitment, selection and promotion policies and
procedures are properly implemented; that complaints of race discrimination,
harassment or bullying are handled fairly; that progress is made on grievance
and employment tribunal cases; and that the representation of ethnic minority
groups at all employment levels across the country continues to improve.
In
the wake of the initial CRE decision to investigate, the CPS agreed to conduct
its own inquiry — led by Sylvia Denman CBE. The CRE suspended its
investigation to give the CPS time to carry out this work. The CPS accepted the
findings to the Denman Report, published in July 2001, and implemented its
recommendations.
The
CRE Commissioners who were nominated to conduct this formal investigation have
agreed that the CPS was making clear progress and concluded that its leadership
is committed to furthering the process of change. The Commissioners agreed to
end the investigation on the basis of the new partnership agreement.
-----------------------------
CPS
and SFO Welcome Fraud Offence Recommendation
The
effective prosecution of various forms of fraud will become easier in future if
the Government accepts a recommendation by the Law Commission to create a single
general fraud offence.
This
is the view of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir David Calvert-Smith QC
and the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Ros Wright. They welcomed
publication of the Law Commission's report on fraud, which the Lord Chancellor
recently presented to parliament.
Sir
David said: “The current legislation concerning fraud is due for an overhaul.
It is unnecessarily complicated and needs to take account of developments in
technology. The creation of a single, comprehensive definition of criminal fraud
will make it both easier to prosecute appropriate cases, and for juries to
evaluate allegations and the relevant issues.”
Mrs
Wright said: "We welcome the Law Commission's recommendations on a single
offence of fraud based on dishonesty. As technology advances, so do the means of
committing fraud and the law needs to keep pace. A flexible offence which will
permit the prosecutor to demonstrate the dishonesty alleged, no matter how
sophisticated the business transactions involved, will make it easier to present
the case and ultimately better serve the needs of justice".