The National Business Crime Solution (NBCS), a not-for-profit initiative, has reported it has helped to cut crimes costing £650,000 month, which equates to £8m a year.
Supported by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the NBCS describes itself as a central repository where business crime data is submitted, shared and analysed to determine key threats and linked crime series.
Sue Fish, Deputy Chief Constable for Nottingham and ACPO national lead on business crime, added: “At the recent British Retail Consortium (BRC) conference, it was great to see both national organisations and police forces speaking highly of the pockets of intelligence that had been enhanced by sharing information with the NBCS. It’s great to see the initiative working – independent of policing and with a governance structure that provides all businesses with the opportunity to contribute.”
With a reported rise in organised crime and further cuts to public sector funding, businesses are according to the NBCS recognising the benefits of a not-for-profit initiative that works with businesses. As a result, over the past six months membership has increased by over a half. The NBCS says that it has supported a number of businesses to reduce their exposure to business crime whilst also providing a safer environment for customers and staff.
Catherine Bowen, Policy & Stakeholder Director for the NBCS, said: “In just six months, we’ve seen significant progress, and more importantly, proof that by working in collaboration, we can build a national profile of business crime and support the police by building watertight, cross-border cases that result in real action. By working with law enforcement officials we can not only ensure cross border, serious and organised criminals are pursued but by working with police analysts we can advise businesses on criminal trends and any particular hot spots for increased illicit activities.”
In the first half of 2014, the NBCS, supported by the National Business Crime Intelligence Bureau (NBCIB), has dealt with over 70 investigations exposing cross border, serious and organised criminal groups. It has also provided support to more than 40 national businesses across 33 police force areas, resulting in 29 arrests.
The NBCS for example worked with one member business alongside cross-border authorities to stop a series of high value thefts valued at over £9,000. In just nine days, 32 recorded offences were across a number of force areas. By sharing information, the NBCS quickly established the full nature and scale of the gang’s activities leading to a timely arrest and end to the high-value crime. Another member business suffered 11 burglaries in two months costing the company £22,000 in lost goods, repairs and lost trade. By working with the NBCS, the team established a pattern of the offending incidents, proving they were linked and not isolated incidents. As a result of passing this information to the police and assisting with further case development, the authorities were able to step in and make an arrest.
Catherine said: “Sharing information across the business sector has ensured that retailers are alerted to rising trends, enabling them to take preventative action. It has also meant that where there are organised crime groups, this information is collated and shared with the police to bring criminal activities to a timely end. The timing for the NBCS has never been better – with major cuts to public sector funding, and a greater recognition of the important role businesses can play in cutting crime has led to a an increased appetite for data sharing. Business crime may have made it back onto the agenda, but the challenge now is how we keep it there. In order to continue the progress we’ve made so far, we need businesses to join us, share their data and be part of this fast-growing collaborative approach to business crime.”
