To ask if you had heard the news re dwp are to be given powers of arrest?

[Graphista]

Popped up in my Facebook feed, shocked to see it being widely reported in regional newspapers yet I cannot find any mention of it on bbc news anywhere and I can't see it being widely reported in national media

I think this is absolutely appalling! They aren't police officers they don't have anything like the training or understanding of the law.

I find this deeply worrying that people with such a vested interest in the outcome of such actions will be allowed such hugely damaging powers - not just of arrest but to give search warrants etc too

What the Hell! We are no longer sleep walking into a "police state" we are now living in one!

I for one will be contacting my Mp tomorrow about this I am so disgusted and horrified by this.

This is literally criminalising the poorest and least able to defend themselves in our society

Yeah, it is grim to watch. I used to think you could vote Tory as a decent human, but surely you have to be a nasty bastard to vote for this lot.

I don’t know what they do in Ireland, but in the UK, that’s not the average profile of an interviewee under caution at the DWP office.

The article doesn't mention benefit fraud or council houses at all and is also Irish. It looks like these people were committing a huge scale money laundering operation and not benefit fraud.

That's terrifying.

When I split up from my abusive ex he accused me of tax credit fraud, it was hard enough waiting for 12 weeks to get my claim reinstated but if the DWP had powers of arrest and to come into my home it would have been a lot worse.

They dont care that it's against human rights because them losing so much money and not having as much to go to people who need it trumps that. I still disagree though because I wouldnt want people looking through bank accounts and transactions and people deserve to have treats. Being on benefits shouldn't be a punishment and a life of misery. Most of the time it's not even enough to live on and they set you up to fail.

It'll also be a way round having to prove fraud on the balance of probabilities, in front of an actual judge. Yet again, they want to undermine the legal system and bypass the legal process.

I wonder whether the next piece of news will be that they will be contracting out this new work to their pals (and getting a cut of the profits).

Of course we should reduce benefit fraud. You should only ever be on benefits for the shortest time possible and only if you absolutely cannot work. It's a last resort safety net. Too many people claim to be unfit for work but really could.

Benefits should be there for the absolute sickest and most disabled unquestionably. Short term to top up wages yes but only if you aren't knowingly making your situation worse e.g. having more kids.

Well it looks like they're setting up a specialist investigative department, modelled on HMRC investigations branch

I'm mildly surprised there isn't one already

I don't see how it's an assault on human rights, as there is no 'right to commit a crime and get away with it'

Whoever arrests those suspected of crime (ie whether they can in certain cases have those in the investigations branch do it, like HMRC, or if they have to call in a police officer) the prosecution process that follows would be the same

Their fanbase will love it. It's a vote winner for sure. Might not get passed the Lords though. They tend to be a bit less fascist.

Benefit fraud is a thing though. And “they should go after those who don’t pay tax first” isn’t a get-out.

Of course they should go after those who don’t pay tax, but crime is crime.

Nobody is saying they shouldn’t. They already do.

They already have fraud teams, investigations and administrative penalties. They already have access to financial records of named suspects. They already have powers to interview under caution.

So why do they need the wheel reinvented?

How does this fit in with the govt cutting 8000 jobs in the DWP then? (Or however many it is this week?)

Another excellent question.

Maybe the thinking is a few officers with powers to speculatively trawl financial records, scanning for discrepancies, will replace 100s of fraud officers investigating actual leads? Who knows?

Leaving dwp next month after taking the job after losing businesses in covid. The government shut down the fraud department in covid they had claimants making claims up with childrens names I Am Defrauding You - 4 kids. It was the most shambolic organisation I have ever had the misfortune of working in please don’t let anyone tell me to whistle blow no one is interested I can’t wait to leave and guess what everyone I worked with feels the same abs for those who moan about benefit fraud you so realise it’s about .3% of the overall benefit budget

It's almost like you expect the Minister for Work and Pensions to know what's happening at the Department for Work and Pensions. You crazy fool!

And more is saved in unclaimed legitimate benefits than is lost to fraud.

Yes exactly the department is not fit for purpose I did some amazing work in covid every day I was getting messages saying what a great work coach I had great pride in what I achieved but the way it went after I was signed off sick it was immoral and repugnant

That's why they are tearing up the human rights act first.

That's not how it works. From the OPs government weblink:

"The new powers will be granted by parliament, subject to securing time and approval."

Parliament will have to approve it and, if they do, that's democratic.

Right. Don't know what I was thinking
Silly me

I've long thought they just assign ministerial positions based on who puts their hand up first
.

I doubt they've even thought that far tbh.

Hopefully with their new powers of arrest the first people they'll go after is non resident parents who scam to avoid paying maintenance!!

The tories will always spend £10 to take £1 from a poor mans pocket.

Doesn't everyone technically have arrest powers already? (I have misunderstood citizen's arrest.)

I'm completely against far-reaching laws allowing the government to look at your bank account though. There needs to be a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity before they should be allowed to do that.