Economic Crime Directorate
The City of London is the world's leading business and financial
centre. Over 450 international banks are sited here, the City
of London is the recognised world centre for the insurance industry
and home to the headquarters of countless international
corporations.
More than 300,000 people travel to work in the Square Mile every
day, generating tens of billions of pounds for the UK economy. City
Police has developed high levels of sophistication in the area of
economic crime to meet the specialist needs of the community.
The Economic Crime Directorate (ECD), led by Detective Chief
Superintendent Steve Head, is dedicated to preventing and
investigating fraud at all levels. Its reputation for success is
considerable - in 2007 seventy five per cent of
crime investigated by the unit were cleared up.
City Police is the acknowledged lead force within the UK for
economic crime investigation. Its expertise is sought
internationally, for example in 2005 it contributed to fraud
investigations taking place throughout Europe and Asia.
Latest estimates suggest that fraud costs the nation a
staggering £14 billion a year. When the Government announced a
National Fraud Review, City of London Police was invited to
participate at the highest level - evidence of the Force's
outstanding reputation in this area. This has enabled the Force to
play an influential role in determining how fraud will be more
effectively investigated in the future.