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Small businesses
voice crime
concerns
»»NEW 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 the current crime
statistics and suggest low levels of
trust in the ability of the police to
deal with business crime among
small businesses.
LACK OF CONFIDENCE
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
(PCC) in 2012.
BARRIER TO GROWTH
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%).
INCREASE IN CRIME
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.
‘a third
of small
businesses
thought
business
crime was
increasing
in their
area’
IMPROVE SECURITY
Businesses have made a
concerted effort to improve
their security. Two fifths (41%)
of businesses have installed or
upgraded a security system to
protect their business, an increase
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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.
We are issuing our PCC manifesto
today, in the hope we can forge a
better relationship between police
and businesses once and for all.”