Home Office 'failing retailers'

Wednesday, 18 June 2003 12:00 AM

Retail losses due to criminal activity fell slightly last year but that was no thanks to the Home Office, the British Retail Consortium has claimed.

The BRC's tenth Annual Crime Survey showed that theft, fraud and criminal damage cost British retailers £1.7bn in 2002. And the total cost to shopkeepers was higher still because of the half a billion pounds that they invest in crime prevention measures.

Bill Moyes, director general of the BRC commented: "When the Government defines the priorities for the police, retail doesn't even rate a mention. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable - they are more likely to be burgled or robbed and their staff are twice as likely to suffer physical violence."

And Mr. Moyes claimed that the Government had invested only £3m in retail crime reduction, leaving the bulk of the task in the hands of the shopkeepers themselves who have spent £3.2bn on crime prevention over the last five years.

The survey also revealed that shop owners identified eight million offences of customer theft in 2002, only 306,000 of which were reported to the police, suggesting that retailers have lost faith in the criminal justice system.

Shoplifting made up 44% of the losses, while thefts by staff went down slightly to 37%.

The crimes did not just have a financial cost, with 36 out of every 100 outlets reporting incidents of physical violence against members of staff.

The BRC has also claimed that the majority of the money made from retail crime - an estimated £1.2 billion per year - goes to support drug abuse, making it a major social issue as well as a problem from individual businesses, in the organisation's view.

The Home Office has defended its levels of support for businesses, pointing to its Security for Small Retailers scheme as an example of a positive strategy to tackle crime. Earlier this week it announced £5.8m of funding for nearly 5,500 shops to security measures.

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