Firms turning to private eyes to tackle fraud as police forces cut back

The Association of British Investigators (ABI) has warned that its members are being inundated with requests to carry out probes into a growing number of fraud cases which has risen during the economic crisis.

The ABI’s president, Tony Imossi, said private investigators, who earn on average about £600 a day, are being increasingly employed as police do not have the resources to tackle complex and time-consuming fraud inquiries.

The ABI, founded in 1913 and the oldest association of its kind in the world, will be holding its annual conference in York tomorrow. Its patron, Colin Dexter, the creator of Inspector Morse, will attend along with investigators from across the UK as well as Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Mr Imossi, a private investigator since 1981, revealed he is working on an inquiry which has revealed a High Street bank paid £8m to what is thought to be a bogus individual.

He said: “Fraud is now epidemic – it has been a problem for a long time, but it is now one of the fastest growing areas of crime given the current economic situation. There is a huge demand for our services as the police are under unprecedented pressures.

“The police need to get support and officers are doing the best they can in an extremely tough situation, but there is simply not enough resources available.”

Police forces are faced with swingeing cutbacks amid the Government’s austerity drive. Yorkshire’s forces must save £200m over four years to counter the cuts.

Insurers uncovered 2,500 fraudulent insurance claims every week in 2010. The number and overall value of detected insurance frauds have risen by more than 100 per cent in the last five years. Mr Imossi said he had witnessed a ten-fold increase in inquiries about potential frauds in the last five years alone.