Action urged on business crime

Monday, 8 August 2005 12:00 AM

The government is being urged to take action on business crime as new figures suggest more than half of small businesses are targets every year.

Research by the Federation of Small Business (FSB) suggests up to 58 per cent of small businesses in Britain fall victim to crime each year, but less than half of these are reported.

It urges business to ensure they help the police in tackling business crime and to be more proactive in securing their assets, but adds that a responsibility also rests with the government and should be urgently addressed.

"Sentences are lower for commercial burglaries than domestic burglaries, and criminal damage and theft from commercial premises have effectively been de-criminalised," said spokesman David Croucher.

"Ministers must recognise that crime has a devastating impact on small firms, generating fear in the workplace, alienating customers, and resulting in a negative knock-on effect in the wider community."

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