The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Retail Crime Survey 2004-2005 makes for a truly alarming read.

Customer theft is estimated to have cost the retail sector £589 million in 2004, a 44% increase on the previous 12 months (‘Counting the cost’, pp22-24). In addition, the BRC reports that the value of losses attributable to staff theft has risen to a mammoth £498 million (the 2003 total having been ‘only’ £282 million). Retailers have lost £11.2 billion due to crime.

Furthermore, the BRC’s statistics show that violence against members of staff is on the increase, so too the cost of fraud and criminal damage. Since 2003, the cost of the latter has almost doubled to today’s ceiling of £24 million. Overall, it’s a pretty bleak picture, but how do we buck these trends?

From now on, reporting methods adopted by police forces must clearly identify business crime by category. Similarly, loss prevention managers need to ‘think outside of the box’. At present, there are many cases of strong, stand-alone initiatives designed to fight crime that have been pioneered by individual retailers. If those projects work then surely the knowledge gained should be shared on a collective basis?

In turn, the Government and the Judiciary have to recognise that retail crime is now highly organised, extremely profitable and increasingly violent. Suggestions by certain factions within the Judiciary that retail crime is a ‘nuisance crime’ are not only an insult to the victims, but also send out entirely the wrong message to (often repeat) offenders.

On that note, retailers want to know what the Government is doing to help safeguard their businesses and their profits. Commitments to reduce anti-social behaviour and the new ‘Respect’ agenda have been well received, as has the Drugs Act 2005. Positive moves, but that’s only the beginning.

While throwing money at a problem is rarely the right answer, the £900,000 allocated by central Government over a mere two-year period to support Action Against Business Crime (AABC) is inadequate. The Home Office must do better.

Although a positive step, setting up this organisation and persuading businesses to embrace pro-active partnerships aimed at fighting criminals takes time. It’s not a ‘quick fix’.

It would be a travesty if the 155 business crime reduction partnerships already forged by AABC chief executive Michael Schuck and his committed team are not supported (and new ones created) due to finite funding. AABC demands longevity.

Source

SMT