Addressing online safety, fraud, and economic crime

The City of London Police Authority Board Chair, James Thomson, says the recent ascension of the Online Safety Act and the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act marks a significant step towards addressing online safety, fraud, and economic crime.

James Thomson stated that the Online Safety Act "will help in the fight to protect individuals from various online threats. By including measures to tackle harmful content, such as cyberbullying and online abuse, and safeguards the well-being of both children and adults in the digital realm, online spaces in England and Wales will be safer."

Mr Thomson is also the Chair of the Authority’s Economic and Cyber Crime Committee and says that economic crime has an enormous impact on businesses and individual victims across England and Wales, making up around 40% of all crime.

In reference to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, he emphasized that this legislation is “comprehensive effort to strengthen our defences against economic crime and improve transparency in financial activities. The Act will support the Fraud Strategy and Economic Crime Plan 2 to combat money laundering, corruption, and fraud, and also reinforce the obligation to prevent fraud and other financial misconduct which we fought hard to include."

“In saying that, I think Government has missed an opportunity to extend the failure to prevent fraud wider that it covers in the Act. Extending the failure to prevent clause to small and medium-sized enterprises would go a long way to tackling all levels of fraud in England and Wales.”

“Ultimately though, the advocacy from the City Corporation and the City Police for these measures reflects our commitment to legislation that ensure national security, enhance competitiveness, and limits the risks to fraud and online abuse”.

“These Acts demonstrate how the wider, whole system approach to tackling fraud and economic crime can be brought into effect to complement the efforts of law enforcement. While the current scale of fraud means we can’t arrest our way out of this, preventing victims’ exposure to fraudsters in the first place is the best approach to keeping people safe,” says James.

The City of London Corporation’s Court of Common Council is the Police Authority for the Square Mile, with the City of London Police Authority Board being responsible for holding the Commissioner of the City of London Police to account.

It aims to make sure the force is running an effective and efficient service, ensuring value for money, and setting policing priorities considering the views of the local community.