You're quite right that the CPS (also known as the Criminal Protection Society) is useless at pursuing fraudulent insurance claims. I suspect one reason for this is that a hugely disproportionate number of such claims originate from the Asian (mainly Pakistani) communities, who are only too keen to play the race card if prosecuted. This Asian dominance of the 'crash for cash' industry is known by everyone involved in personal injury claims but is hushed up because of the racial angle.

One piece of evidence that did more than hint at it was a recent survey by, I think, Aviva, which identified the towns where it was most prominent - Blackburn and Bradford were right up at the top. However, a very encouraging development is that the insurance companies themselves are using the civil courts to impose criminal penalties on these fraudsters. They are issuing civil proceedings against them for contempt of court on the basis they lied on oath to try and gain compensation. An example of this was reported in The Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9113220/Crash-for-cash-mother-jailed-leaving-behind-baby.html Fortunately for the rest of us the insurers aren't as lily-livered as the CPS, and a few more cases like this might finally get the message across to the fraudsters. However, it's a disgrace that the insurance industry should have to pay for these prosecutions.