Inter-agency work and the UK public sector investigation of fraud, 1996-2006: joined-up rhetoric and disjointed reality

Most policing activity in the area of UK public sector fraud is undertaken not by the police but by departmental investigators. This article explores the shifting rhetoric and on-the-ground efforts to escape departmental silos in order to address 'the problem of fraud' and fraudsters more efficiently and effectively via 'joined up working'. These public sector reforms have been promoted principally by the National Audit Office and government. It reveals that these efforts have generally been modest in practice, because they have gone against the grain of departmental objectives and cultures. In the context of these experiences, the prospects for change in public-public and public-private partnerships are explored in the light of the UK government Fraud Review and the National Fraud Strategic Authority.