Briefing: A day in the life of a new Ifed detective after graduate scheme success

I am not sure my path to becoming a detective followed what would be considered a ‘typical’ route, but I do know I first voiced my ambition to undertake this career at around 13-years-old.

Two degrees and eight years later, I joined the City of London Police after completing two-year graduate programme Police Now. Today, I’m proud to call myself a detective.

I never imagined I would end up investigating insurance fraud – I did not even know such a department existed initially. Yet here I am, having spent the past year and a half with the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (Ifed).

At Ifed, we deal with all forms of insurance fraud – from crash for cash schemes and ghost broking to dental fraud. While this may sound dull to some individuals, the truth is that even the most straightforward case can take a surprising turn.

One such case involved dental fraud. What should have been a simple investigation soon escalated into proving a suspect had tried to fake his own death. When the fraud was discovered, the suspect went to great lengths to forge documents to prove he was deceased, however I was hot on his heels. Working with local officers, he was swiftly apprehended, preventing him from committing any further criminality.

When I first joined the unit, I had no idea where to begin when a case landed on my desk and I often felt overwhelmed. Thankfully, I had a brilliant mentor, who – along with the wider team – provided invaluable support and guidance. Because of them, I was able to manage one of the most challenging cases I have worked on so far.

Impactful investigation

Just over a year ago, I was assigned another suspected dental fraud to investigate. Initially, this seemed to be a relatively clear-cut case with an obvious suspect, who I arrested for fraud. Naturally, he was suspended from work because of this, which caused significant financial and emotional strain on both him and his family.

As the investigation progressed, I conducted an interview with the suspect and by working closely with the insurer involved, I established it was actually his wife who had submitted the forged and fraudulent documents – unbeknown to the suspect.

After securing the necessary evidence, I interviewed the suspect’s wife – she confessed to the fraud and was issued with a conditional caution.

Despite this successful result, I was mindful about safeguarding both parties because of the strain the investigation had had on the whole family. I wanted to ensure they were supported.

A few weeks later, I was surprised to be visited by both individuals. The original suspect came to thank me for clearing his name, as well as for the professionalism and kindness I showed to his family. That moment has stayed with me – it was incredibly rewarding and remains one of the proudest moments in my career so far.

Now, 18 months on, I have built lasting relationships with industry leads to collaboratively work together on cases and achieve results in partnership.

I will not claim to understand every nuance of the job, but I do recognise its importance and I am proud to be a member of Ifed’s team and contribute to the fight against insurance fraud.