CANDIDATES in May’s election of Northamptonshire Police & Crime Commissioner have been urged to put business crime at the forefront of their agenda.
The call has come from the Federation of Small Businesses in the wake of its latest research in England and Wales, which shows that small firms are facing a double whammy of virtual and physical crime. More than 80% have been impacted by crime at least once in the two years to January 2023 – an increase from 49% for the period between 2017 and 2019.
Traditional crime, including organised shoplifting, drained more than £1,000 from more than half of small businesses in the last two years, with one in ten losing more than £10,000, says the FSB’s Cracking the Case report
Now, as the PCC elections edge nearer, FSB leaders are demanding that candidates in Northamptonshire place business crime front and centre of their manifestos.
FSB area manager for Northamptonshire Jennifer Thomas pictured left said: “Small businesses are a huge and increasing target for criminals. The new Home Secretary and the police must act to provide the safety and security on which day-to-day economic life depends.
“We have been hearing countless reports of organised shoplifting over the past year and our study further shows how serious and unprecedented the problem is. This is certainly not what we need at a time when we look to grow our economy.
“Witnessing our small high-street shops and independent businesses losing their hard-earned money because these crimes are overlooked by authorities is disheartening, not to mention the mental toll on small business owners and their staff.”
Traditional crime is led by vandalism, damage to premises and anti-social behaviour followed by burglary, robbery and theft. A total 37% of businesses have fallen victim to fraud, costing 44% under £1,000 but 8% said it had cost them more than £10,000. Invoice fraud is the most common offence, followed by card and cheque fraud and unauthorised payments from bank cards and accounts.
The “explosive” rise in cybercrime and fraud from the persistence of phishing emails to sophisticated invoice fraud is also alarming, she added.
One in ten have faced malware attacks or have had their social media accounts hacked. 92% of respondents had been affected by phishing.
The surge in the number of crimes against small businesses is despite more than six in ten taking measures to protect themselves against traditional crimes, such as installing or updating security, initiating a training programme and improved insurance cover. An overwhelming majority gear up against cybercriminals and fraudsters, ranging from installing anti-virus software to updating software on IT systems regularly.
Two-thirds of small firms have reported their most impactful crime to the police, their bank and their IT provider/service. The rest chose not to report for reasons including thinking the crime was not serious enough to report, a lack of confidence in the police and no plans to make an insurance claim.
Sally Wood pictured right, the FSB’s area leader for Northamptonshire and a financial consultant working in Northampton, said: “Sadly, so many small firms across Northamptonshire will have found themselves the target of business crime, whether it be as a victim of fraud or cybercrime, or offences such as theft or anti-social behaviour.
“Crime against small businesses not only has a detrimental impact on those who run and work for them but also hurts the wider economy. [The] PCC election for Northamptonshire is a good opportunity for candidates to show they have the backs of small firms in our area by pledging to put business crime central to their manifestos.
“In order to create flourishing high streets and town centres, we need small business owners to feel safe and listened to.”
Ms Thomas added: “We need to see not only firmer and swifter action from the police and government but also politicians standing in the general election to make business crime a priority as they seek the votes of the UK’s 5.5 million small business owners.”
