Prosecution Policy & The Law
Ashford Borough Council is committed to
reducing Benefit fraud and recognises that taking action against
offenders is an important deterrent. A Prosecution Policy has been
adopted by the council that provides for the application of
criminal proceedings and other sanctions in more serious cases of
Housing and Council Tax Benefit fraud.
The policy is available by contacting the
Fraud Investigation Team at:
The Benefits Fraud Section
Civic Centre
Tannery Lane
Ashford TN23 1PL
The Law
The Benefit Fraud Section always works within the legislation
relating to the investigation of Housing Benefit Fraud. This
includes:
- Social Security Administration Act
- Human Rights Act
- Data Protection Act
- Theft Act
- Criminal Attempt Act (Indictable cases only)
- Criminal Law Act
- Forgery and Counterfeiting Act
- Magistrates Court Act
- Accessories and Abettors' Act
- Criminal Justice Act
- Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)
- The Criminal Procedures Investigations Act (CPIA)
- Authorised Officer Powers
The Criminal Procedures Investigations Act
The CPIA defines
an investigator as being:
"Any police officer (or other
person) involved in the conduct of a criminal investigation. All
investigators have a responsibility for carrying out the duties
imposed on them under this code, including in particular recording
information, and retaining records of information and other
material."
The code therefore applies to the Benefit
Fraud Section, whether or not cases are prosecuted by the Council,
the Department of Work and Pensions or Crown Prosecution Service.
The Benefit Fraud Section will ensure that standards imposed by the
code will apply even if there is no intention to prosecute when a
case begins. The collection of evidence and Interviews Under
Caution [IUC]
are part the prosecution process.
CPIA defines
a criminal investigation as:
"An investigation conducted by
police officers (and other investigators) with a view to it being
ascertained whether a person should be charged with an offence, or
whether a person charged with an offence is guilty of it."
"Authorised Officers" Powers in connection with Employment,
Trade or Business
Appointed Authorised Officers have statutory
defined powers:
- of entry to property
- to require the production of documents
- to require people to answer questions
The Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998
This act came into force from 2 October 2000.
This incorporated the European Convention into domestic law. To
comply with the HRA
all criminal investigations must respect individuals' rights to
privacy.
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (
RIPA
) 2000
All investigating bodies must prove that any intrusion into an
individual's right to privacy is essential to the investigation of
fraud. Procedures and guidance are set out in RIPA 2000, which
was expressly passed to regulate Human Rights Act issues.
RIPA is a legal
requirement and therefore a mandatory requirement for local
authorities.
There is a number of anti-fraud organisations that we are in
contact with, including:
This webpage was updated on
2/13/2012