9 Bedford Row observes the National Crime Agency (NCA)

9 Bedford Row notes with interest the release of details from the Home Office as to the proposed remit of the National Crime Agency (NCA) and its constituent parts. It is very much to be hoped that it will have a longer future than its predecessor the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). One mooted possibility that it is now clear will not be part of NCA is the suggested incorporation of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into NCA.

That this was proposed and is now not on the agenda does call into question the SFO’s future as a free-standing investigative and prosecution agency. It is very much to be hoped that uncertainty about its future can be resolved quickly either by an assurance that the SFO will remain for the foreseeable future or that it will be subsumed into the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Any prolonged period of flux will only serve to lend heart to those engaged in serious fraud: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13678653