Crimes against business equate to more than a sixth of the total cost of all crime in the UK.
So says the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) after a survey of members, its first since 2004.
The BCC’s Director General, David Frost, and other Chamber of Commerce Chief Executives have jointly written to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith calling on the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to make cutting crimes against business one of their key performance indicators. However, as Professional Security reported last month from the Action Against Business Crime conference, ACPO man Peter Davies of Lincolnshire Police ruled out such an indicator for the police to record business crime. What the BCC called a worrying lack of confidence that the business community has in the police is the major reason why the chambers are campaigning for the Home Secretary to make reducing business crime a KPI. Some 85 per cent of respondents to the survey believed that this is crucial in getting the police to fully engage in cutting business crime. The report entitled, The Invisible Crime: A Business Crime Survey, surveyed 3,900 businesses nationwide. Findings include:
l 59 per cent of businesses have experienced at least one incident of crime in the last 12 months.
l 81 per cent feel that crime against business is a problem in their local area.
l About one in four (24 per cent) of firms have experienced damage to vehicles, whilst 20 per cent said they had experienced vandalism and graffiti, with 19 per cent being burgled.
l Greater proportions of businesses based in industrial estates and areas (73 per cent), shopping parades (70 per cent) and out of town locations (70 per cent) have suffered crime in the last 12 months when compared to those based elsewhere.
l 68 per cent of businesses said they would not report relatively small crimes or damage to premises or property to the police.
l And 68 per cent of businesses do not feel confident that the police are dealing with issues that are most important to them.
‘Cost laid bare’
David Frost said: "Businesses are the lifeblood of communities and crimes against business have a damaging impact on both the economic growth and future prosperity of local areas. This survey has laid bare the growing cost of business crime and exposed some fundamental flaws in the way business crime is handled by the police. The result of these flaws has meant increasing numbers of businesses are losing confidence in the police’s ability to address their concerns about crime. The absence of a national definition for business crime, from which police forces can record instances of criminal activity, is an issue which needs addressing. The government must work closely with the business community going forward if they truly want to clamp down on the growing problem."
Small firms’ view
Commenting, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) Chief Executive, Phil Orford, said: "Many firms are faced with the costs incurred by repeated crimes against their premises. This significantly impacts on growth and, in many cases, their ability to survive. The knock-on effect for local economies, in terms of inward investment, employment, and community confidence, can also be devastating. We need a more visible, proactive police presence. There must also be a change in the culture of not reporting crimes, so that the perpetrators stand a greater chance of being caught and are prevented from re-offending."
They came in trench coats
The forum quoted member Samuel Blacklock who has owned Blacklock Carpets, based in Beeston, Nottingham, for 26 years. He estimates that thieves target his shop, on average, four times a year. "In one incident, just before Christmas, they came in daylight wearing long trench coats and made off with about £600 of rugs," he said. "The police station is about 400 yards away and we phoned to say they could be caught, as they were driving right past. To this day no police officer has been to this store to investigate that incident. When I complained I was told that only one officer had been on duty that day and that no-one was dealing with the robbery." Mr Blacklock said he resented paying more in business rates in exchange for a reduced police presence, adding: "We’ve been targeted repeatedly, and on occasions our neighbours or members of the public – not the police – have intervened. There have also been incidents of vandalism, and all of this is a direct result of the failure of the local police service."
The Home Office minister for crime reduction, Vernon Coaker MP, is the invited keynote speaker at the West Midlands Business Council’s annual business crime conference at Birmingham Council House on June 18. Topics include retail crime, metal thefts, truck crime and e-crime.
Visit www.wmbusinesscouncil.org.uk
Risk forum
The fourth annual intellectual property risk and security forum runs on June 4, at Victoria Park Plaza Hotel, London. Speakers invited include Martin Sutton, Manager, Group Fraud Risk and Intelligence at HSBC, who was among the founders last year of the non-profit organisation Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse (CADNA); and Valerie Whitelaw, Security Manager EMEA, Xerox Corporation.
For details visit www.iprisk.co.uk
