DCPCU marks seventh anniversary by crashing through £315m savings barrier

Banking sponsored DCPCU saves in excess of £315 million through financial fraud prevention work

The DCPCU was launched on 29 April 2002 as a two-year pilot and, following the successful conclusion of this trial, it was established as a permanent Unit with an ongoing brief to help stamp out organised card and cheque fraud. The Unit is fully sponsored by the banking industry and comprises officers from the Metropolitan and City of London police forces who work alongside banking industry fraud investigators.

Since its inception, the DCPCU has:

• Achieved more than £315 million in savings from reduced fraud activity
• Recovered more than 45,000 counterfeit cards
• Recovered just under 290,000 compromised card numbers
• Secured 240 convictions on fraud related matters.

Detective Chief Inspector John Folan, who leads the DCPCU and is a serving City of London police officer, said: "The Unit's track record over the past seven years speaks for itself. Our work continues to seriously disrupt the organised gangs responsible for this type of crime and, when coupled with fraud prevention savings in excess of £315 million, it is clear that the DCPCU has become a powerful asset in the fight against fraud."

In the past year the DCPCU has also benefited from the work of the Payments Industry and Police Joint Intelligence Unit (PIPJIU), which was set up In March 2008. The PIPJIU is an enhanced intelligence unit that uses a secure and robust reporting mechanism to gather information on fraud, which is then analysed and shared as appropriate amongst banks and police throughout the country.

Sandra Quinn, director of corporate communications said: "The banking industry is delighted by the continuing success of the DCPCU. Their outstanding work provides an excellent example of how a joint public/private partnership can work together. Not only does the Unit stand on its merits as a successful model for other countries to follow, but it provides real benefit when tackling the organised criminal gangs behind financial fraud."