Cost of crime to business is highest in Yorkshire

LEEDS businesses are suffering from the detrimental effects of crime, according to new research.

More than half of firms questioned in the latest Leeds Chamber of Commerce Business Crime survey said that crime in the city had a negative effect on inward investment.

Nearly 60% of respondents said that business crime was also directly impacting on employee time.

Damage to vehicles was named as the top issue (25%) closely followed by burglary (23%), vandalism and graffiti (18%).

A quarter of respondents said that they had no confidence in police response while around 40% said that they thought the police had little understanding of their concerns.

Nearly all of those interviewed saying that a fast and effective police response would be effective in reducing crime.

Moreover the cost of crime is on the rise. According to the survey the annual cost of criminal activity is now anything between £1,000 to £4,999 per organisation. Regionally, the cost to Yorkshire businesses is £23,000 per year.

Nationally, businesses in Yorkshire and Humber are more likely to experience at least once incidence of business crime in the past year than anywhere else in the UK.

Ian Williams, Leeds Chamber of Commerce policy director, said that the survey highlighted the “desperate need” for the business community to be given a greater role in local crime partnerships.

“The results of our survey have further endorsed the desperate need for business crime to be taken seriously by politicians and the police,” Mr Williams.

“We have for some time been campaigning to government about the importance of making business crime a key performance indicator, and with a large proportion of businesses in the city having experienced business crime last year, our survey has put forward a powerful case why the business community deserves to get its voice heard and crime against business taken seriously.”