UK Fraud Cases at 21 year high

KPMG regular Fraud barometer report. Investors worst hit, then government, then financial institutions. Worth getting hold of the full report, if white collar crime is your bag...[is the previous post a case of white gown crime? Just a thought?]

Foreign brides and Grooms held in marriage scam swoop

Slovakian brides, Nigerian grooms, Bradford and Manchester...all swooped on by Yorkshires new immigration Crime team made up from the Border Agency and seconded Yorkshire Police officers. I can just hear fat Andy Dalziel's comments...Well, its organised...and its crime, but not quite as we know it, Jim!

The 'ndrangheta and the Cafe de Paris in Rome

Hmmm...if I read this correctly, the authorities in Calabria have ordered the seizure of the cafe de paris, as they claim that the 'ndrangheta have invested loads of money in the historic centre of Rome in general. we shall see! the Italian prosecutors tend to be as excitable as Italian drivers and all disappears in the "Court of Fogs". But those of you attemding the recent Summer school in Catania will be interested to see that the 'ndrangheta does in fact get everywhere....allegedly!

Police "not using CCTV properly"

DCI Neville of the Met says too much spent on kit, not enough on people and processes. Some of the problem hinted at lower down...it's local authorities who run CCTV and they are putting them where residents are pressing for them, not where research suggests they might be useful. But who cares, some company has just "found out2 that there are a million fewer cameras in the UK than previously thought...I know its a mere journalist, but how do the methodologies compare between the private company and the academics who did the research in 2002? Its all on Newsnight tonight. sadly the piece is a puff for the programme and exaggerates in order to get punters to watch...Its yur summer homework on reliability of sources, students!

Gun culture sweeps through Sheffield estates as postcode gangs do battle

A rare peek into the odd things going on in UK cities. Russian guns in Sheffield, probably brought from Manchester.

A right Royal fraud; the £3m fraud that fooled Palace police

The case has just finished and a member of SO 14 the Royal Protection Unit, has been found guilty of involving fellow officers in a fraudulent investment scheme. the tabloids have had a field day, apparently.

"Countdown thieves" puzzle police

they're stealing letters from shop signs. Police are worrying about what the letters spell. Wouldnt they be better engaged working out just how the thieves intend to make money out of them?
Mind you, it is happening in Norfolk...

Police uncover £80m Ponzi scheme

But the investors refuse to believe them...

Brussels Outlines Justice priorities for next 5 years

Mostly calls for closer cooperation, but is aware of Member States reluctance to pass any power in this area to the Commission. This document is the Commissions contribution to the Stockholm programme....to which we had better find a link!

Pepper spray for South African cash machines

Something else for World Cup fans to worry about! exploding ATMs and random pepper sprays for tamperers.

Why are public perceptions of crime so at odds with official statistics?

There are two obvious answers: The media keeps trying to panic the public, as with swine flu...or the government/police are falsifying the statistics in some way. but this is the British Crime Survey, which is not under the control of either! the article is not of first year essay standard, which is a bit disappointing, since the independent is supposed to be for reasonably well educated people....Ah me!

Four Million British identities are up for sale on the Internet

Times article. Ex-cop has gathered all the data available for sale on the internet into a single database and proposes charging people to look and see if their details are on it...Presumably this is a trailer for a follow-up article?

Experts: cyberstrikes originated in britain not North Korea

What?! It was all our fault??? as the last paragraph says, just because the attacks can be traced to a British server, doesnt necessarily mean that this was where they all really started.

30,000 involved in organised crime in UK

Joint report by Cabinet Office strategy unit and the Home Office. Better find the original.

Gangsters launch fire bomb attack on Liverpool prison

Liverpool organised crime never seems to get into the national news. "Masked thugs on a scrambler bike" who fled in an off-roader. Burnt a van and poured petrol over staff cars....

Six charged in US with "boiler room" fraud

Six former executives at Sky Capital, which used to be listed on AIM, charged with $140 million fraud

MyDoom virus hits key sites in US and South Korea

New version of MyDoom virus on the loose...but was it a cyber attack by North Korea, or just another hacker playing with code? Update your virus defintions quickly!

Paris Hilton Sued in fraud case

Seems an appropriate link to begin with. The links are tenuous, but American lawyers will go to any lengths to get publicity. underneath all this, though are allegations about yet another Ponzi scheme that has absolutely nothing to do with Ms. Hilton.

Return of the Blogger

Your blogger is back from the first Standing Group on Organised Crime Summer School in Catania and can report that it was excellent. You should have been there! I will try to catch up over the next few days on the stories I missed while I was away.