Burglary and vandalism are "devastating" small firms

Burglary and vandalism are having a "devastating" effect on small firms, Wilfred Mitchell of the Federation of Small Businesses said.

The FSB policy chairman said that crime ate into slim budgets and caused disruption and anxiety.

A survey of the FSB's 5,000 members found that 59% suffered at least one crime in the last year.

The most frequent crimes were vandalism, vehicle damage and burglary.

"Our research reveals that the true extent of business crime is not reflected in official figures as many firms have effectively opted out of the criminal justice system," Mr Mitchell said.

Crimes against business are not given a high priority because they are often viewed as 'victimless' Wilfred Mitchell FSB policy chairman

"A staggering 36% believed that reporting crime will achieve nothing; a quarter felt police would not be able to catch the criminals and 20% also admitted to not reporting crimes to keep their insurance premiums from rising."

Mr Mitchell said there was a perception that business owners in Northern Ireland were experiencing a crime epidemic and that no-one cared.

He said business crime was not one of the police's performance standard indicators and, as a result, missed out on vital funding.

Planning regulations often prevented businesses from installing crime prevention measures such as metal shutters and CCTV, he said.

When businesses invested in these measures, they were stung with business rate bill increases as a result, he said.

"Crimes against business are not given a high priority because they are often viewed as 'victimless'. But crimes can be devastating for a small firm and its employees," Mr Mitchell said.

The FSB is calling on political parties to commit to:

• A zero tolerance to anti-social behaviour such as graffiti, vandalism, robbery and burglary

• Crime against businesses to be made a Performance Standard Indicator (PSI) so that it is afforded the same priority and funding as domestic crime

• Crime against businesses to be recorded separately from domestic crime to give a true picture of its extent

• 100% first-year tax relief for investment in security

• Easing of planning regulations relating to crime prevention measures and their dis-aggregation with regards to business rates

• A business crime compensation scheme - similar to the criminal injury compensation scheme - to compensate victims

• An extension of the definition of a consumer to include small unincorporated businesses so that they can be protected by consumer laws and Unfair Contract Terms Legislation