Crime Against Business

When the British Chambers of Commerce commissioned its last Crime Against Business Survey in 2004, there was a belief among the business community that the Government was at last taking the issue of business crime seriously. A renewed focus on working with local partners and a greater emphasis on national partnerships were seen as positive steps in the right direction.

However, the 2008 survey has found that confidence in the police and its ability to deal with business crime is worryingly low. As a result the disturbing trend of non-reporting of business crime is on the rise. Businesses, at the heart of their local communities and as providers of jobs, are key to the development and sustainability of their local areas. Damage to business, therefore damages the community itself.

The British Chambers of Commerce estimates the cost of crime against business has risen by a worrying 20% since 2004 with the total cost now standing at £12.6 billion. This acts as a significant brake on growth not only of the national economy but at a local level. Towns and cities are sustained by the viability of their local economies. If crime against business continues to rise, companies will be forced to relocate taking with them the employment and opportunities they provide while areas affected by crime will fail to attract the investment required to stimulate and sustain economic regeneration.

It is now imperative that the Government recognises the seriousness of crime against business. The British Chambers of Commerce believes that the Government should tackle crime against business in partnership with the business community. Chambers of Commerce are ideally placed at the heart of local communities to assist the police in tackling business crime. We urge the Government to take action on this important issue and to engage with all stakeholders.

The report entitled, The Invisible Crime : A Business Crime Survey (2008), surveyed 3,900 businesses nationwide to ascertain the extent of crime against business.

A number of troubling concerns about business crime have been made very apparent:

• 59 per cent of businesses have experienced at least one incident of crime in the last 12 months.
• 81 per cent feel that crime against business is a problem in their local area.
• 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.
• Greater proportions of businesses based in industrial estates/areas (73 per cent), shopping parades (70 per cent) and out of town locations (70 per cent) have experienced crime in the last 12 months when compared to those based elsewhere.
• 68 per cent of businesses said they would not report relatively small crimes or damage to premises or property to the police.
• 68 per cent of businesses do not feel confident that the Police are dealing with issues that are most important to them.