Organised shoplifting now among most common types of crimes against small firms, new research shows

TRADITIONAL crime, including organised shoplifting, drained more than £1,000 from over ½ of small business victims across England and Wales in the last 2 years, with 1 in 10 losing in excess of £10,000 according to new research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

FSB's Cracking the Case report, that has just been published, shows how small businesses are facing a double whammy of virtual and physical crimes, with an overwhelming 81%; or 4.1 million; of them in the 2 nations affected by at least 1 crime between:- January 2021 and January 2023.

That's a jump from 49% in the same period between:- 2017 and 2019.

The flagship report also revealed a growing number of reports of organised shoplifting and threatening behaviour towards shop owners and their staff.

35% have been impacted by at least 1 traditional crime in the last 2 years. These crimes are related to vandalism / damage to premises and anti social behaviour (34%), followed by burglary or robbery (30%) and theft by a 3rd party / external party (29%).

As a result, 56% of the victims lost more than £1,000, while 33% faced losses of £1,000 or less. 11% lost more than £10,000.

With the local Police and Crime Commissioner elections on the horizon, FSB is urging those standing as a candidates in Cheshire and Liverpool City Region to recognise this alarming issue and ensure they place business crime front and centre of their manifestos.

The report finds 37% of small businesses have encountered fraud, costing 44% of the victims up to £1,000. Some 39% lost more than £1,000 and 8% say it cost more than £10,000.

Invoice fraud (31%) is identified as the most common type of fraud. Card/cheque fraud (29%) comes in 2nd and a quarter (26%) goes to unauthorised payments from bank cards/accounts.

A majority (72%) of small businesses have encountered cybercriminals with phishing (92%) dominating the scene. 1 in 10 have faced malware attacks, while a similar proportion (9%) had their social media accounts hacked.

As with the fraud, 44% of those falling victim to cybercrime lost up to £1,000. A third lost more than £1,000 and 6% say it cost more than £10,000.

The surge in the number of crimes against small businesses is despite 65% taking at least 1 measure to protect themselves against traditional crimes, such as:- installing or updating security, initiating a training programme, and improved insurance cover. An overwhelming majority (92%) gear up against cybercriminals and fraudsters, ranging from installing anti virus software to updating software on IT systems regularly.

66% small businesses say they have reported their most impactful crime to the Police (30%), their bank (20%) and their IT provider / service (18%). The rest chose not to report for a wide range of reasons, such as thinking the crime wasn't serious enough to report, a lack of confidence in the Police/Action Fraud, and no plans to make an insurance claim.

Among a 3rd of small business victims that have reported the crime to the Police, 59% say Officers did not attend the scene. 48% believe the Police did not investigate after the initial response. Merely 3% say the Police investigated, identified and arrested the perpetrators.

Amid increased reports of organised shoplifting, some businesses say they feel it is wrongly seen as an:- "acceptable business cost."

In light of the findings, FSB has put forward a list of recommendations for traditional crime, including...

Police and Crime Commissioners and candidates should:-

• Include business crime as a priority in their Police and Crime Plans and in manifestos for all those standing for election in May 2024 demonstrating commitments to business crime from the beginning to the end of their term.

The FSB also say the Home Office should:-

• Introduce a separate offence for violence against retail workers.
  

• Clarify that there is no £200 threshold for investigating organised shoplifting offences. There is currently an impression that shoplifters will not be arrested if they steal under £200 worth of goods.

For cybercrime and fraud, the FSB have said that the UK Government and National Cyber Security Centre should review the pricing of Cyber Essentials certification, as well as costs associated with annual renewal in relation to the smallest businesses and explore whether lower tier pricing or a special reduced rate could be introduced.

The FSB think the Home Office should:-

• Include the impact of fraud on small businesses in the next fraud strategy and consider a specific targeted approach with clear objectives.

They are also calling on the Home Office to:-

• Introduce a mandatory recording process for business crime and add a:- 'business crime' section to the crime outcomes in England and Wales statistics so progress can be tracked, and targets set.
  

• Aim to increase the average number of Police Officers in England and Wales up to 335 per 100,000 population.

FSB Merseyside and Cheshire spokesperson Phil McCabe 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've 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. What's also alarming is the explosive rise in cybercrime and fraud from the persistence of phishing emails to sophisticated invoice fraud. 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. Sadly, so many small firms across Cheshire and Warrington and Liverpool City Region will have found themselves the target of business crime, whether it be as a victim of fraud or cybercrime, or offences like theft, or even 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. Next year's Police and Crime Commissioner election is a good opportunity for candidates to show they have the backs of small firms 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."

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Sexual health services at breaking point due to rising demand

AHEAD of National HIV Testing Week, it has been reviled that ⅔ of Councils have seen rates of gonorrhoea and syphilis increase since 2017; new analysis by the Local Government Association has been revealed, as sexual health services reach breaking point.

The LGA, which represent Councils responsible for public health across England and Wales, is calling on the Government to provide extra funding so local sexual health clinics can meet rising demand and publish a long term plan to help prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections.

New figures, collected by the Office of Health Disparities and published as a rate per 1,000 residents, on the LGA's data platform, LG Inform, show that:-

• 97% of Council areas have seen an increase in the diagnoses rate of gonorrhoea, with 10 local authorities seeing rates triple. The biggest increases were seen in:- Wigan, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Torbay.
  

• The highest rate of diagnoses was in the London borough of Lambeth, with 1,221 cases per 100,000 people, with the top 10 being made up of inner London boroughs.
  

• 71% of areas have seen increases in cases of syphilis, with the largest increases being seen in Middlesbrough, the Isle of Wight, Darlington and Redcar & Cleveland.
  

• 36% of local authority areas have also seen increases in detections of chlamydia.

Demand for sexual health services has continued to grow, with nearly 4.5 million consultations carried out in 2022, up by a third since 2013. In 2022 there were 2.2 million diagnostic tests carried out, a 13% increase from the year before.

Although some of the rise has been attributed to increased diagnostic testing, and the ongoing work of Councils to improve access to services and make it easier for people to get tested regularly, the scale suggests a higher number of infections in the community.

While demand has risen, funding for these services has been reduced.

LGA analysis has found that, between 2015 and 2024, the public health grant received by Councils has been reduced in real terms by £880 million (based on 2022/23 prices). This has resulted in a reduction in Councils' ability to spend on STI testing, contraception and treatment.

The LGA said the Government needs to urgently publish 2024/25 public health grant allocations for Councils which provide an increase in funding to cover these pressures.

As well as this, Councils and their local sexual health commissioners are calling for the Government to publish a new 10 Year Sexual and reproductive Health Strategy to help prevent and treat infections in the long term.

Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA's Community Wellbeing Board said:- "These statistics show that local sexual health services are grappling with unprecedented increases in demand. The Government needs to ensure sexual health funding is increased to levels which matches these stark increases. Councils have been working hard to encourage more people to access sexual health services and get tested more regularly to help improve detection rates and catch infections early. Investment in sexual health services helps to prevent longer term illness and unwanted pregnancies, reducing pressure on our NHS and improving the health of people across our communities."

Dr Claire Dewsnap, President of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH):- "BASHH has repeatedly stressed that, without sufficient investment, sexual health service users will face severe challenges in their ability to access expert, timely care. On top of this, the impact of tendering processes has contributed to a lack of stability in the sexual health sector and a depletion of training which further jeopardises the quality and accessibility of services. This data not only demonstrates the deeply concerning trajectory of STI infection growth but also the need for a robust national strategy, backed up by adequate funding. As demand for care increases, without imminent action, we compromise our ability to safeguard the sexual health of our nation."

DID you know that:- 'National HIV Testing Week' returns on Monday, 5 February 2024? to find out more about HIV testing and this annual testing week please go to:- THT.Org.UK. Regular HIV testing benefits all of us. More information about HIV, visit:- NHS.UK.