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Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud

Sara Correia-Hopkins Orcid Logo

International Journal of Population Data Science, Volume: 7, Issue: 1

Swansea University Author: Sara Correia-Hopkins Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/ijpds.v7i1.1721

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IntroductionResearchers and public authorities are increasingly exploring the potential of administrative data to generate new insights. This includes recent work leveraging the opportunities of the crime report data collected by the UK’s national reporting centre Action Fraud (AF). However, the qua...

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Published in: International Journal of Population Data Science
ISSN: 2399-4908
Published: Swansea University 2022
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa59343
first_indexed 2022-02-10T16:00:47Z
last_indexed 2023-01-11T14:40:33Z
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spelling 2023-01-03T15:58:02.1835568 v2 59343 2022-02-10 Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud 2ba1ee45d427797148e7fa052da4de59 0000-0003-0261-6872 Sara Correia-Hopkins Sara Correia-Hopkins true false 2022-02-10 HRCL IntroductionResearchers and public authorities are increasingly exploring the potential of administrative data to generate new insights. This includes recent work leveraging the opportunities of the crime report data collected by the UK’s national reporting centre Action Fraud (AF). However, the quality of these data and its implications for data users have not been systematically analysed.ObjectivesThis paper outlines challenges and opportunities of using AF data in cybercrime and fraud victimisation research and practice and makes recommendations to improve the quality of this dataset.MethodsThe author has undertaken two studies using samples of AF data pertaining to crime reports within the Welsh police forces, between 2014 and 2020. Quality diagnostic checks, reflections and methodological decisions were considered across each study. These were reviewed, key themes were identified and discussed with data provider representatives and a broader group of researchers to finalise the recommendations presented.ResultsThe strengths and limitations of AF data are discussed and grouped into themes, closely aligned with four quality dimensions widely used by statistical authorities. This includes an assessment of 1) the impact of under-reporting and 2) the purpose and rules of crime recording, on the relevance of the data to its users; 3) the accuracy and reliability of the data; 4) the consistency of recording and its impact on coherence and comparability; and 5) the accessibility and timeliness of the data.ConclusionsRecommendations are made to improve AF data to generate better quality insights across the dimensions of relevance, accuracy & reliability, coherence & comparability and the accessibility & timeliness of this dataset. Additionally, a data catalogue would enable frontline officers and researchers to make the most of this dataset, harnessing it to produce key insights for crime prevention, investigation, and victim support. Journal Article International Journal of Population Data Science 7 1 Swansea University 2399-4908 11 5 2022 2022-05-11 10.23889/ijpds.v7i1.1721 COLLEGE NANME Hillary Rodham Clinton Law School COLLEGE CODE HRCL Swansea University 2023-01-03T15:58:02.1835568 2022-02-10T15:55:13.9195131 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Hilary Rodham Clinton School of Law Sara Correia-Hopkins 0000-0003-0261-6872 1 59343__24154__e7350e6024394b669ca2fc2065f5a7bc.pdf 59343.pdf 2022-05-23T16:30:04.4274092 Output 1267877 application/pdf Version of Record true © The Authors. Open Access under CC BY 4.0 true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
title Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud
spellingShingle Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud
Sara Correia-Hopkins
title_short Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud
title_full Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud
title_fullStr Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud
title_full_unstemmed Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud
title_sort Making the most of cybercrime and fraud crime report data: a case study of UK Action Fraud
author_id_str_mv 2ba1ee45d427797148e7fa052da4de59
author_id_fullname_str_mv 2ba1ee45d427797148e7fa052da4de59_***_Sara Correia-Hopkins
author Sara Correia-Hopkins
author2 Sara Correia-Hopkins
format Journal article
container_title International Journal of Population Data Science
container_volume 7
container_issue 1
publishDate 2022
institution Swansea University
issn 2399-4908
doi_str_mv 10.23889/ijpds.v7i1.1721
publisher Swansea University
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str Hilary Rodham Clinton School of Law{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Hilary Rodham Clinton School of Law
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description IntroductionResearchers and public authorities are increasingly exploring the potential of administrative data to generate new insights. This includes recent work leveraging the opportunities of the crime report data collected by the UK’s national reporting centre Action Fraud (AF). However, the quality of these data and its implications for data users have not been systematically analysed.ObjectivesThis paper outlines challenges and opportunities of using AF data in cybercrime and fraud victimisation research and practice and makes recommendations to improve the quality of this dataset.MethodsThe author has undertaken two studies using samples of AF data pertaining to crime reports within the Welsh police forces, between 2014 and 2020. Quality diagnostic checks, reflections and methodological decisions were considered across each study. These were reviewed, key themes were identified and discussed with data provider representatives and a broader group of researchers to finalise the recommendations presented.ResultsThe strengths and limitations of AF data are discussed and grouped into themes, closely aligned with four quality dimensions widely used by statistical authorities. This includes an assessment of 1) the impact of under-reporting and 2) the purpose and rules of crime recording, on the relevance of the data to its users; 3) the accuracy and reliability of the data; 4) the consistency of recording and its impact on coherence and comparability; and 5) the accessibility and timeliness of the data.ConclusionsRecommendations are made to improve AF data to generate better quality insights across the dimensions of relevance, accuracy & reliability, coherence & comparability and the accessibility & timeliness of this dataset. Additionally, a data catalogue would enable frontline officers and researchers to make the most of this dataset, harnessing it to produce key insights for crime prevention, investigation, and victim support.
published_date 2022-05-11T08:09:12Z
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