Member Article

Directors fear a rise in business crime

Directors believe business crime is on the rise, with fraud and theft a worsening problem for companies across the country, according to new research.

A survey of 1,000 company directors showed almost one in five had noted an increase in crime over the past 12 months, with the Institute of Directors (IoD) saying internet crime, fraud and theft are all increasing.

IoD Director General, Miles Templeman, said: “It looks like one of the many side effects of this recession is that business crime is on the up. “This is another nightmare for bosses to grapple with, particularly at a time when companies are already facing huge pressures.”

He added: “The figures show how critical it is that the home office start recording and reporting on the level of crime committed against business, something they’ve held back from doing for far too long.”

Business crime, in particular fraud, is greatly unreported, according to Northumbria Police.

To combat this, the police force works with the North East Fraud Forum, a police sponsored service to assist business in preventing crime, the Hadrian Project, an organisation to prevent cyber crime, as well as other groups in preventing and detecting crimes.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim McCall, head of Northumbria Police Economic Crime Unit, said: “There is national acceptance that the true scale of business crime, particularly fraud, is not known though it is often at times of economic downturn that patterns, trends and crimes can be more easily identified.

“There is at present no evidence of an upturn in business crime in the Northumbria Police area, though the work of the National Fraud Authority (NFA) will without doubt lead to a dramatic increase in reported crime – though not in the amount of crime taking place.”

He added: “Crime against business is often thought to be victimless - it’s not. The victims are not only the business owners themselves, but also the communities that small businesses sustain.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .