“The increase in cases of fake police officer fraud is concerning. The impact on our police is significant. The methods of these fraudsters undermine the authority and credibility of the police.” This was stated by the prosecutor today in court in Zutphen. A 33-year-old suspect from Utrecht had to account for an attempted fraud in which he posed as a police officer. The Public Prosecution Service demands a prison sentence of 4 months.
On the evening of June 17, the victim received a call in Borculo. Over the phone, the suspect pretended to be police officer Rick. “That conversation was carefully prepared: the caller tells his victim that burglars are active, of which two out of three burglars have already been arrested. One of them is still at large. A note with the victims address would have been found in the car of these burglars. The fake police officer warns about this burglar.”
The victim is asked about valuable belongings and is told that an officer – this time named Leo – will come to the house. However, this attempt at fraud is seen through by the victim; the police are alerted, and when the suspect shows up at the house, he is arrested by the police and taken into custody.
Today, the fake police officer had to account for himself at a summary trial before the police judge. The prosecutor spoke of “a serious criminal offense that has deeply affected the victims right to privacy and his trust in the government. We are dealing with a crime that poses a huge danger to our rule of law and the trust placed in one of the most important protectors of our rule of law: the police.”
The Public Prosecution Service stated today: “As a result of these types of fraud practices, police officers have had to identify themselves more often this year because citizens doubted their identity. Citizens no longer open their doors for the police and call 112 because they have become suspicious due to the increase in such incidents. And that complicates neighborhood investigations when the police are looking for witnesses to committed criminal offenses.”
Like in recent criminal cases regarding fake police officer fraud, the Public Prosecution Service today presented to the court that this phenomenon must be halted in no uncertain terms. ”The Public Prosecution Service asks the court to consider this attempted fraud in seriousness and to compare the penalty to that of a burglary. A prison sentence is the only punishment that will do justice to such acts.”
The police judge sentenced the Utrecht resident to 4 months in prison, of which 2 are conditional, with a probation period of 2 years.