Nearly half – 49 per cent – of companies have suffered from criminal activity directed against their business during the last year.
So says the London Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly survey, which interviewed 357 companies.
Burglary and shoplifting is the most common crime, with 21.5 per cent of respondents saying it was the type of crime which had most affected their business. Anti-social behaviour and vandalism was cited as the type of crime which had most affected their business by 16.9 per cent of companies. Some 15.5 per cent cited external fraud; 7.4 per cent hacking and data theft; and 5.2 per cent said fraud by employees.
Some 40 per cent of companies said that they had been victims of crime on more than one but fewer than five occasions in the last year. But 6.3 per cent of businesses questioned said that they had had to deal with criminal activity on more than five occasions.
Some 11.5 per cent of firms said that crime had cost their firm more than £1,000 in the last year. Six per cent said that crime had cost them more than £2,500. Eight per cent of respondents said that crime had cost their company more than £10,000. Half – some 50.7 per cent – said that they had not been affected by criminal activity so they had incurred no costs on account of it. When asked whether or not London was a safe place to do business 73 per cent of companies answered ‘yes’. Some 10 per cent said ‘no’ with the remainder being undecided.
What they say
Dan Bridgett of the London Chamber of Commerce said: “The number of firms whose business is being directly affected by crime is scandalously high. Our figures show that the overwhelming majority of crimes experienced by businessmen and women can be classified as either vandalism or burglary. We have called for business crime to be included as a key performance indicator for the police. It is vital that strategies to prevent crime against companies are worked out a local level. And dialogue between the business community and law enforcers to establish what the local priorities are is essential.”
One affected
One firm affected was Mail Boxes Etc, based in Croydon and run by Brian McGowan and his 26-year-old son, Robert. Two men entered the shop and tried to steal the till before assaulting Robert McGowan and fracturing his jaw. The local police took 32 minutes to respond and as of yet nobody has been charged. “We do not feel that the crime which took place against my son and our firm has been a priority for the police at all,” said Brian McGowan.
