Businesses urge action on crime

The BCC says the cost of crime has risen 20% in three years

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called on the government to make cutting crimes against business a police priority.

The organisation said business crime costs firms £12.6bn a year and that its members were losing confidence in the police to tackle the problem.

A BCC survey suggests 59% of companies have experienced at least one incident of crime in the last year.

But the Home Office said commercial robbery had fallen a third since 2001.

The BCC says making crimes against business a Key Performance Indicator for police forces in the UK would encourage them to take the matter more seriously.

"Businesses are the lifeblood of communities and crimes against business have a damaging impact on both the economic growth and future prosperity of local areas," BCC Director General David Frost said.

The organisation, which represents smaller firms, said the lack of a national definition of business crime meant the extent of the problem was not fully appreciated, as police forces recorded crimes differently.

A Home Office spokesman said the department took the matter seriously.

"This year we expect to widen the range of recorded crimes against business and will conduct another commercial victimisation survey which will include those crimes sometimes not reported to the police," he said.