Under the current sentencing guidelines, fraud carries a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment, or for crimes where the financial loss is less than £5,000, a maximum of one year. However, the majority of those found guilty of crimes with a loss under £5,000 receive a fine or community order instead of the one year prison sentence available.32 The Department acknowledged that the maximum sentence permissible for crimes with a loss over £5,000 is only used “very rarely” and needed to be used more. The NCA told us that law enforcement can often spend longer investigating a fraud than the convicted criminal is sentenced to, and there can be a feeling of “hopelessness” in investigating and prosecuting fraud cases. It told us that police were now trying to ensure statements provided by victims of fraud captured not only the financial loss incurred but also the impact of that loss on the individual and the potential psychological damage it may have caused to help judges take informed decisions on sentences.33 The NCA also told us that one of the reasons there was so much fraud in the UK compared with other countries, was that there was not much chance of being caught. Of around 900,000 frauds reported each year in the England and Wales, currently less than 1% result in a criminal justice outcome. The NCA argued that forming an effective deterrent for criminals is not only about the length of sentences but also the likelihood of being caught, and recognised that both needed to be addressed.34 29 Q 114 30 Qq 31, 41, 114 31 Q115 & Home Office, The Strategic Policing Requirement, February 2023 32 Justice Committee, Fourth Report of Session 2022–23, Fraud and the Justice System, HC 12 33 Qq 53, 64 34 Qq 46, 65 14 Progress combatting fraud