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MAY 2016 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
SMALL BUSINESSES
VOICE CRIME CONCERNS
Research from the Federation of Small Businesses
(FSB) has found small firms
are not reporting crimes
against their business because they do not think it
would lead to a successful
prosecution (38%). The FSB
findings call into question
the accuracy of current
crime statistics and suggest
low levels of trust in the
ability of the police to deal
with business crime among
small businesses.
Nearly a quarter of smaller
business owners (24%) do not
report any crimes committed
against their business. When asked
why, most said they felt reporting
it would not achieve anything
positive (46%). This figure has not
changed in six years, highlighting
an ongoing lack of confidence in
the authority’s ability to address
business crime over that period,
despite the launch of Police and
Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in
2012.
These worrying findings come
as candidates seeking to become
PCCs set out their stall to voters.
The FSB has produced a manifesto that urges candidates to put
business crime at the heart of their
plans to ensure this issue is finally
addressed. Business crime acts as
a barrier to growth for the UK’s
5.4 million small businesses and
in the worst cases, puts entrepreneurs out of business.
Mike Cherry, National Chairman
at FSB, said: “While the new definition of ‘business crime’ adopted
by the police in April 2015 is a
real step forward, there is still a
long way to go in understanding
and addressing the true extent
of the problem. Crime affects all
businesses, but it impacts smaller
firms the hardest as they cannot
absorb the unexpected costs. The
fact that businesses are not reporting crimes shows a real breakdown in trust and confidence in
the police.”
Other frequent responses from
business owners explaining why
they did not report business
crime included: the belief that
police would not be able to find
the criminals or achieve a successful prosecution (38%), and
that reporting crime was too time
consuming (26%).
FSB research also found a third
of small businesses thought business crime was increasing in their
area. This stands in stark contrast
to the government’s Commercial
Victimisation Survey last year
which claimed business crime
was decreasing. Coupled with
the number of businesses that do
not report crime, it is clear that
government statistics may not be
reflecting the reality experienced
by many firms.
Two thirds (66%) of those surveyed by FSB have been a victim
of cyber crime in the last two
years, just under half (48%) have
been a victim of non-cyber crime,
and 53% have been a victim of
both. On average, those affected
have been a victim of cyber crime
four times and non-cyber crimes
three times.
Businesses have made a concerted effort to improve their security.
Two fifths (41%) of businesses
have installed or up graded a
security system to protect their
business, an increase of 25% since
2010. But security will only do so
much. The government and police
need a stronger focus on business
crime.
Cyber security is on the increase
and is therefore an area of particular concern for small firms. As a
result, it is being taken even more
seriously, with 80% of small firms
protecting their IT systems with
computer security software. Only
3% of small firms reported not
putting any cyber security measures in place.
Mike Cherry, continued: “With
the average cost of crime to a
business now at £5,898, and instances of cyber crime on the rise,
there is a real necessity to get a
handle on this.
“FSB members call on candidates
for PCCs standing in elections
across England in May to make
combating business crime a
central theme in their long-term
plans.”
Suggested measures PCC’s could
incorporate into their campaigns
to increase small business confidence include:
• Increasing the interaction between the small business community and their local police
force.
• All PCCs to conduct a routine
survey of local businesses on
policing matters, akin to the
‘Business Attitude Survey’ in
London.
• Encourage more businesses who
are victims of crime to report it
by taking measures to breakdown some of the negative
perceptions of doing so.
• Ensure frontline staff are trained
in how to handle incidences
of cyber crime and that the response to victims of cyber crime
is significantly improved.
• All forces should substantially
increase their fraud investigation
capability.
For regional FSB contacts please
go to www.fsb.org.uk/regions
‘Lighthouse day’ Challenge for charity’s anniversary
This year the Lighthouse Construction
Industry Charity marks
60 years of delivering
financial and welfare
support to the construction community.
Since 1956 the charity has
helped over 15,000 construction workers and their
families through times of
hardship and despair but
more is needed, and so
this year it has launched a
campaign called ‘One day…
to help our own.’
The charity is challenging
all 360,000 companies in
the sector to make just one
day of their year ‘Lighthouse
Day’ to raise vital funds.
There are four steps:
1. Register for Lighthouse
Day at www.
lighthouseclub.org/
lighthouseday.html
2. Receive a fundraising
pack full of ideas and
information on how to
promote your day
3. Choose a day for
fundraising activities
4. Tell everyone about it
and let the fundraising
begin.
Shocking statistics recently published by the
Health and Safety Executive
highlight the dangers of
working in the construction
industry and it is clear that
more needs to be done.
• Every year there are on
average 40 fatalities on
building sites
• Every year there are over
2,000 major accidents
that incapacitate the
worker in such a way
they cannot return to
work
• Every year there are over
69,000 new cases of work
related illness reported
that can be directly attributed to working within
construction
• Over 45% of all occupational cancer cases in the UK
are directly attributed to
working in construction
• Every year over 1.7
million man days are lost
through injury or illness
in our industry.
The charity’s CEO Bill
Hill said: “We want to
make our 60th year a
definitive one, a year
where we can say that we
institutionalised Lighthouse Day. The charity
receives no public finance
and relies on support
from within the industry.
If we can reach just 1% of
the construction industry
and they raise just £500
each, then we could see
the charity raise over
£1.5m.”
The Lighthouse Club
Charity wants to support
education and training
schemes to get unemployed labour back into
work in construction. It
helps promote health
and safety initiatives to
proactively reduce accidents and promote health
initiatives on site.