3 THE AGENCY'S MONITORING OF
FINANCIAL INVESTIGATORS
10. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Agency
is responsible for training Financial Investigators and monitoring
their performance. To fulfil its monitoring role, the Agency requires
Financial Investigators to complete monthly Continuing Professional
Development activities to retain accreditation. The Agency had
put in place an electronic learning and support network through
which Financial Investigators could complete their Continuing
Professional Development activities. The system did not, however,
adequately differentiate between the categories of people who
could access the system and as a result, the Agency did not have
a clear understanding of the number and identity of the Financial
Investigators who should be undertaking Continuing Professional
Development activities. Following the National Audit Office's
examination, the Agency had identified that there were 1,397 Financial
Investigators who should be completing Continuing Professional
Development activities.[11]
11. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 requires the Agency
to monitor Financial Investigators' completion of their Continuing
Professional Development activities. Prior to the National Audit
Office's fieldwork in summer 2006, the Agency had no monitoring
processes in place. 90% of accredited Financial Investigators
had not completed all the Continuing Professional Development
activities required to maintain their accreditation and almost
60% had completed less than half of their required activities.
The Agency was seeking to improve its monitoring of Continuing
Professional Development.[12]
12. Training of Financial Investigators costs almost
£700 per place and requires a significant investment of time
by the Financial Investigator and their employing organisation
during the twelve months that it takes to become accredited. The
1,397 active Financial Investigators identified by the Agency
represent just 31% of the 4,500 Financial Investigators trained
by the Agency during its four years in operation. The National
Audit Office had identified almost 1,000 individuals, representing
almost 30% of those registered on the electronic system, who were
not actively working as Financial Investigators. The Agency funded
training courses for people employed by police forces, who made
up over two thirds of the Financial Investigators listed on the
electronic system (figure 3), but the decision as to which individuals
attended the courses, and the role those individuals took subsequently,
lay with the employing organisation.[13]
Figure 3: The proportion of Financial
Investigators on the electronic system from each type of organisation
Source: National Audit Office
11 Qq 69-73; C&AG's Report, paras 4.1, 4.3, 4.6-7 Back
12
Qq 67, 108, 125; C&AG's Report, para 4.6 Back
13
Qq 111-2; C&AG's Report, paras 4.3, 4.6 Back
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