Are criminals taking advantage of outmoded police practices?

Here at Legate we are becoming increasingly busy supporting our clients who contact us as a last resort to help them find their missing vehicles.
Having investigators with a range of skill sets honed out having worked extensively in either Insurance, the banking industry or police, we are able to recover most vehicles without requiring police assistance. Where we do recourse to reporting vehicles stolen by theft or because of fraud, we can and do ensure that vehicles are recorded as stolen and significantly, marked as such on the Police National Computer.

Sounds simple doesn’t it! But there are many occasions; and anyone reading this who has reported motor vehicle finance crime will know; that it ain’t that easy!
It certainly seems to me that some police officers [by no means all] will take considerable time and effort in ensuring a record or criminal investigation doesn’t commence, as opposed to being proactive.

When this happens, numerous barriers are placed in the way. It may be a conclusion that the allegation is a civil matter and not for police to investigate or “this did not happen in our force area or jurisdiction.” Despite these challenges, our case managers are able to use hard earnt expertise, and successfully argue to the contrary.
There is however, a real danger of motor finance related crime being decriminalised, through a lack of positive police action. Police will argue that this is not the case, but they are resource driven and have to prioritise. The trouble is that even a perception by criminals that is the case is just as damaging.

Where there are deemed to be no consequences, motor finance related crime inevitability goes up; after all, you get the keys and the V5 without having to break in to the vehicle or burgle the property.

We are increasingly seeing cases where criminals will seek to exploit outmoded bureaucratic police processes for gain.
A recent widely reported case resonates. A women in Scotland; a barrister by profession was defrauded of £30,000 by scammers who convincingly claimed to be from her bank.

The allegation was reported to Police Scotland who concluded that because her bank was in England they wouldn’t / couldn’t investigate it, because “it was not in their jurisdiction.” The crime was transferred to the City of London Police, but it was not investigated because it didn’t meet their threshold level.
Exceedingly upsetting for the victim and the criminals have away it.

OK, so this isn’t motor vehicle finance fraud, but we come across so many similarities all the time. The good news is folks, Legate doesn’t take no for an answer!