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The purpose of this paper is to highlight Arab counter fraud and anti‐corruption professionals' attitude towards fraud in the Arabian Gulf.

Five semi‐structured interviews were carried out with counter fraud anti‐corruption employees in the public sector in the Arabian Gulf.

This paper shows that Arab counter fraud and corruption employees are critical of present strategies in the Gulf region.

One limitation is the limited number of people interviewed.

The paper provides interviews with key counter fraud and anti‐corruption personnel of Arab origin in the Gulf region.

This paper aims to highlight present strategies to prevent money laundering in Dubai.

Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with Anti Money Laundering Suspicion Cases Unit (AMLSCU), Anti Organized Crime Department (AOCD) and Central Bank employees.

This paper shows that AMLSCU, AOCD and Central Bank employees are aware that future strategies to prevent money laundering are needed.

Limited available secondary data and cases of money laundering.

Interviews with key personnel in main organisations tasked with preventing money laundering in Dubai.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the “relationship” between the regulated online gambling sector in Great Britain and potential for money laundering.

Direct “negotiated” access and a snowball sample were used to secure five interviews with gambling personnel.

The paper shows that respected online gambling sites in highly regulated jurisdictions are helping in tackling money laundering.

Only a limited number of people were interviewed.

The paper presents interviews with key personnel in the gambling industry, in anti‐money laundering, fraud and integrity units.

The purpose of this paper is to provide evidence, from the analysis of 132 fraud risk measurement exercises, of the average costs and rates of fraud. It advocates greater use of more accurate measurement which if monitored and repeated can secure reductions which could amount to a new competitive advantage.

This paper has analysed 132 fraud risk measurement exercises from nine countries in a range of different sectors. Only those which assess a statistically valid sample which have sought and examined information indicating the presence of fraud, error or correctness in each case within that sample; have been completed and reported; have been externally validated; have a measurable level of statistical confidence; and have a measurable level of accuracy were included. Each exercise has been assessed to determine the percentage loss rate (PLR) and the fraud frequency rate (FFR). These data were analysed using Excel to determine average rates and further comparable data.

Fraud and error losses in an organisation should currently be expected to be at least 3 per cent, probably more than 5 per cent and possibly more than 9 per cent. The PLR when first measured has been found to be 5.40 per cent and 4.61 per cent when last measured, representing an average reduction of just under 15 per cent. The paper shows fraud and error can be measured and if regularly this incentivizes action to reduce it reaping financial benefits to the organization.

The vast majority of the data are drawn from fraud risk measurement exercises in the public sector in large organizations.

The paper advocates greater use of fraud risk measurement and counter fraud strategies tailored to reduce losses.

This is the first analysis of fraud risk measurement exercises across the globe.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of measuring fraud in overseas aid.

The research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with key persons working in the delivery of aid in both the public and voluntary sectors. It uses the UK Department for International Development as a case study to applying more accurate measures of fraud.

This paper shows there are significant challenges to using fraud loss measurement to gauge fraud in overseas aid. However, it argues that, along with other types of measures, it could be used in areas of expenditure in overseas governments and charities to measure aid. Given the high risk of such aid to fraud, it argues helping to develop capacity to reduce aid, of which measuring the size of the problem is an important part; this could be considered as aid in its own right.

The researchers were not able to visit high-risk countries for fraud to examine in the local context views on the challenges of measuring fraud.

The paper offers insights on the challenges to accurately measuring fraud in an overseas context, which will be useful to policy-makers in this context.

Given the importance of as much aid as possible reaching recipients, it offers an important contribution to helping to reduce losses in this important area.

There has been very little consideration of how to measure fraud in the overseas aid context, with most effort aimed at corruption, which poses some of the same challenges, as well as some very different challenges.

This paper aims to examine the “effectiveness” of the Cyprus police in investigating credit card fraud.

In total, 19 semi‐structured interviews with key criminal justice personnel were undertaken to assess the current capacity of police in investigating credit card fraud.

The paper discovers that a far more co‐ordinated approach is needed to tackle credit card fraud in Cyprus, with a lack of specialised knowledge of fraud a major concern.

All interview schedules were sent before the interviews took place and three of the respondents provided written responses only.

This is the first study of its kind that involved primary research interviewing 19 key personnel involved in policing credit card fraud in Cyprus.

Transportation planning has conventionally examined mobility from the standpoint of the efficiency of transportation systems, based on trips as units of analysis, overlooking the social needs of excluded groups, such as children. Understanding children’s geographies provides insight into one of the basic social needs of children, intrinsically related to mobility: play. Disadvantages in mobility, along with other social conditions further limit children’s autonomy in their neighbourhood. This chapter proposes the term playability as a concept that intertwines both needs. A case study of neighbourhood analyses the playability needs of children from their perspective and that of the community. Findings suggest that, in a walkable, built environment, issues from criminal activity directly influence children’s playability, even more than automobile presence. Furthermore, community perspective on playability, as mostly limited to structured play in designated spaces and time, separates mobility from play and thus limits opportunities for social inclusion. A change in both, acknowledging children’s need for play and mobility, and their reciprocity, and incorporating measures to improve it, may provide a different framework for transportation and urban planning at the local level, one that seeks greater social inclusion of children.

The study of humor has a long tradition in philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and communications. Evidence from these fields suggests that humor can have effects on creativity, cohesiveness, and performance, but organizational scholars have paid it relatively little attention. We hope to “jump-start” such a research program. To do this, we first outline the theoretical rationale underlying the production and appreciation of humor, namely, its motivational, cognitive, and emotional mechanisms. Next, we review the literature linking humor to creativity, cohesiveness, and other performance-relevant outcomes. In particular, we note how this literature is theoretically well-grounded, but that the empirical findings are largely correlational and/or based on qualitative research designs. Finally, we go beyond the current humor literature by developing specific predictions about how culture might interact with humor in organizational contexts. Throughout the paper, we discuss possible research directions and methodological issues relevant to the study of humor in organizations.

There is increasing guidance for public bodies on the appropriate counter fraud strategies to pursue. One area covered is anti‐fraud culture strategies. Building upon the work of the UK Government's HM Treasury, the purpose of this paper is to assess the extent and quality of anti‐fraud culture strategies in UK central government bodies.

Based upon analysis of HM Treasury survey data as well as a survey undertaken by the authors.

The paper shows that the quantitative data from HM Treasury surveys when compared to the qualitative data also drawn from the authors survey highlights significant numbers of central public bodies with limited anti‐fraud culture strategies.

Some of the responses on screening strategies used by central government bodies varied in the detail offered in response to the authors' survey.

Provides much greater depth to the strategies utilised by central government bodies to develop an anti‐fraud culture.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the ways in which contemporary organisations are imposing their own private sanctions on fraudsters.

The research draws on primary data from interviews with counter fraud practitioners in the UK, secondary sources and case examples.

Such developments have been stimulated, at least in part, by the broader limitations of the criminal justice system and in particular a “fraud bottleneck”. Alongside criminal sanctions, many examples are provided of organisations employing private prosecutions innovative forms of civil sanction and “pseudo state” sanctions, most commonly civil penalties comparable to fines.

Such changes could mark the beginning of the “rebirth of private prosecution” and the further expansion of private punishment. Growing private involvement in state sanctions and the development of private sanctions represents a risk to traditional guarantees of justice. There are differences in which comparable frauds are dealt with by corporate bodies and thus considerable inconsistency in sanctions imposed. In contrast with criminal justice measures, there is no rehabilitative element to private sanctions. More research is needed to assess the extent of such measures, and establish what is happening, the wider social implications, and whether greater state regulation is needed.

Private sanctions for fraud are likely to continue to grow, as organisations pursue their own measures rather than relying on increasingly over-stretched criminal justice systems. Their emergence, extent and implications are not fully understood by researchers and therefore need much more research, consideration and debate. These private measures need to be more actively recognised by criminal justice policy-makers and analysts alongside the already substantial formal involvement of the private sector in punishment through prisons, electronic tagging and probation, for example. Such measures lack the checks and balances, and greater degree of consistency as laid out in sentencing guidelines, of the criminal justice system. In light of this, consideration needs to be given to greater state regulation of private sanctions for fraud. More also needs to be done to help fraudsters suffering problems such as debt or addiction to rebuild their lives. There is a strong case for measures beyond the criminal justice system to support such fraudsters to be created and publicly promoted.

The findings are of relevance to criminal justice policy-makers, academics and counter fraud practitioners in the public and private sectors.