ABSTRACT
The pace of change in relation to public sector fraud and measures to tackle fraud often seems relatively slow moving and reliant on a process of gradual implementation cascading from a central initiative; however, the same cannot be said of either local government or the National Health Service. Concern about whether local authorities were tackling fraud effectively led the Audit Commission to conduct fact-gathering exercises across statutory local authorities and launch an annual publication from 1993, 'Protecting the Public Purse', which summarised counter-fraud activities in local authorities, the NHS, fire services and the police, as well as highlighting trends and issues in fraud against local authorities. A disproportionate number of officers are involved in investigating economic crime. For the public sector, these changes in policing have had an effect on criminal investigation of fraud and corruption, emphasising the need for public sector organisations to concentrate on fraud prevention and on effective means of internal and civil action.
