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Frameworks for understanding victim harm and vulnerability have become central to priority-setting and resource allocation for decision-makers in the police and government in the UK. This paper aims to look at the meaning of vulnerability in the context of fraud.

The research took a mixed methods approach, including analysis of national crime data (n = 61,902), qualitative data collected from interviews with practitioners (n = 107) and a survey of strategic lead officers in the police (n = 32).

There was a lack of clarity across practitioners and organisations in their understanding of vulnerability and the way it informed the police response to fraud, and a lack of resources and capability for identifying it.

The authors invite reconsideration of the approach to fraud victims which have for too long been forgotten by response and support agencies.

We need to standardise and agree the definition of “vulnerability”; rethink eligibility levels; and refocus police on fraud victims taking vulnerability as a meaningful criterion in deciding who to support.

There is very little research on vulnerability and fraud victims; this paper, based on original research, fills this gap.

The aim of this paper is to see how senior managers in Middle East, an area frequently associated with high levels of bribery and corruption, tackle these in their organisations.

A qualitative approach was employed, using interviews with 66 employees responsible for bribery and corruption management in their organisations. The research instrument used included both open and closed questions which allowed participants to expand on their answers. Qualitative data and some descriptive statistics are used to analyse and summarise interview findings.

Over the past few decades, governments have tried to control bribery and corruption via legislation. However, this is a contested area and many argue that legislation is an inappropriate mechanism. This paper assesses the implications in one geographical area, the Middle East. As well as exploring current approaches for tackling corruption, it discusses how culture and tradition affect organisational practices. We show that whereas the majority of organisations have been committed to stamping out bribery and corruption, some have been willing to tolerate such illegal behaviours.

This paper informs academics, policy-makers and those responsible for managing bribery and corruption about the challenges faced by those in the Middle East.