The British Chambers of Commerce
Setting Business Free from Crime
Given that crime remains a very serious issue for business, The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) have conducted a further Crime against Business Survey to the initial survey in 2001. The survey aims to illustrate the current extent, nature and impact of crime experienced by businesses. Their purpose is to inform government and policy-makers of the crime problems businesses face and to provide some indication as to what the next steps should be.
Title: Setting Business Free from Crime
Author: The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)
Series: Crime against Business Survey
2004
Number of pages: 32
Date Published: April 2004
Availability: Download
BCC Crime Report 
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Key Points
Crime against business shows no sign of diminishing. If anything, it appears to be escalating. 64% of all business surveyed have experienced at least one crime in the last 12 months - a rise from 58% in the 2001 survey.
One third of all premises have been burgled during the past year. A further 19% of businesses have suffered from attempted burglary. Nearly a third of all firms have experienced damage to vehicles and almost one quarter have been victim to structural damage (including vandalism).
One third of businesses surveyed estimate crime costs them more than £1000 per year. For 15% of firms, the cost of crime is estimated greater than £5000 a year. The average cost of crime per business is over £8000 per year.
One third of firms suffered a disruption from trading as a result of crime committed against them. A further 10% has lost business due to crime consequence. A quarter of firms have seen insurance costs increase and staff morale is also damaged.
Whilst businesses should ensure that they are fully engaged in the issue of crime, the government and local authorities should equally demonstrate their full commitment to tackling the issue. The BCC have long been calling for a statutory measure that requires CDRP's to include business crime within their audit. This would make a significant difference starting at tackling the issue from a local level.
Crime against business should be recorded as a separate statistic by the police. A separate statistic will allow the police to build up a more accurate picture of business crime within the area, and act as a tool by which police performance can be measured.
Over half the businesses surveyed said they did not report all of the crimes suffered to the police. 16% did not report any crimes at all. 32% of businesses failing to report a crime did so because they had no confidence in the police response. One fifth stated that the process was too time consuming.
Businesses would be much more responsive to reporting crime if they feel that the police were able to provide an adequate response. The survey findings show 67% of firms consider a faster police response to be fairly effective in reducing crime against their business.
74% think that crime against business should now become a Key Performance Indicator for the police, to ensure priority alongside other issues and resource allocation.
41% of firms consider tougher sentences for criminals who engage in crime against business to be a very effective method of reducing crime against their business.
Experience and Reporting of crime
Crime against Business is not recognised as a separate category by the Home Office. There is no statutory requirement for the police to record incidences of crime against business separately from other offences. A separate set of statistics would enable police to measure particular problem areas, allocate resources that make a difference, identify patterns of business crime etc.
The survey assesses the extent to which companies report incidents of crime to the police, and if not, why not. To have accurate understanding and to gain valuable results, the police need to work alongside businesses to overcoming barriers hindering reporting crime.
The extent to which businesses have suffered crime in the last 12 months provides an indication as to the overall problem, in addition to highlighting popular types of crime.
Overall, 64% of firms have been victims of crime in the last 12 months. Almost one half (47%) have experienced more than one crime, with 20% suffering 5 or more crimes. The average number of crimes against firms within 12 months is 7.
The most common crime experience is damage to vehicles (32%). Burglary also accounts for nearly a third of crime (31%), defined as a person entering premises as a trespasser with intent. Arson is a crime encountered by few firms.
Of those businesses experiencing crime within the last 12 months, 56% chose not to report all incidents to the police. 16% of firms reported none of the crimes that were committed against them, while 39% reported only half or less incidents. 41% reported every incident.
Objectives of the research
Objectives of the research were to identify:
The extent and nature of the crimes committed in the last 12 months.
The extent to which firms report crimes committed against them to the police and the reasons why they might not report a crime.
The extent and nature of computer related and e-crimes that businesses have experienced in the last 1 months and the steps businesses take to prevent them.
The estimated cost of crime to business and its impact
The extent to which crime against business is a problem in the locality and business awareness of community safety partnerships.
The most useful sources of crime reduction advice for business and the effectiveness of various crime reduction methods
Opinion on whether or not crime against business should become a key performance indicator for the police.
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BCC Crime Report
PDF 1.6mb
(large file)
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