Extra money sought to improve fight against company crime

Sheffield-based People United Against Crime is in talks with the European Regional Development Fund and Yorkshire’s four police forces to try to secure more cash in order to roll out its services across the region.

David Ransom, the chief executive of People United Against Crime, said: “If we can reduce crime, business confidence grows and the regional economy is strengthened.”

People United Against Crime wants to build on the success of the Sheffield-based Business Crime Reduction Centre (BCRC) which has provided crime prevention advice and support to 1,300 small businesses in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire over the last three years.

Mr Ransom said it was difficult to obtain a definitive figure for the number of small businesses that were targeted by criminals across Yorkshire in the last quarter of 2010, because not all forces kept detailed statistics.

During the fourth quarter of 2010, there were 4,756 crimes committed against businesses in South Yorkshire, according to police figures. This was a 21 per cent reduction when compared to the same period in the previous year, although the bad weather in December is believed to have contributed to the fall.

Despite the drop, hundreds of firms are still counting the cost of crime. In Doncaster 834 businesses were affected by crime in the last quarter of 2010, which is 12.36 per cent of all businesses in the district.

Theft and cases involving the handling of stolen goods account for more than half of all crimes committed against businesses.

Mr Ransom warned: “Although crime against businesses in South Yorkshire has gone down, criminals are nothing if not entrepreneurial. They will go where the money is. There has been a significant rise in metal thefts because of the world demand for metal. These thefts have included titanium and copper. Even street furniture and manhole covers have been stolen.

“There are links between the threat of crime and the ‘hidden overhead’ that being victimised places on businesses.”

According to Mr Ransom, the fastest growing menace is cyber – or internet – crime. Internet-based crime costs British businesses around £21bn a year, but many small businesses do not have the resources to deal with it.

BCRC has developed an internet security crime guide for SMEs, which helps to protect them from online fraud, theft and website disruption.

Mr Ransom said he was concerned about small businesses’ inability to deal with the “changing landscape” of threats.

The BCRC, which is jointly funded by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund’s Objective 1, has eight staff members, including five business advisers who visit companies across South Yorkshire offering advice. The BCRC has helped businesses like Doncaster-based agricultural machinery firm Farmstar, which was on the brink of moving away because it had been repeatedly targeted by criminals.

BCRC convinced the firm that it was not necessary to move, and put together a security package with a cost of £18,000. An application was made to the Crime Prevention Fund (CPF) and to help with the costs of the project, the BCRC contributed £3,900. Farmstar has installed an infra-red CCTV system with lighting for the site and an alarm. As a result, 30 jobs have been safeguarded in Doncaster.

Barnsley-based Independent Training Services, which had been plagued by vandals and arsonists, was also helped by BCRC’s team of advisers. The company now has a perimeter fence and an improved CCTV system.

People United Against Crime is a registered charity which was founded in 1996 by South Yorkshire Police. Most of its activities take place in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. It aims to help protect businesses from crime and reduce anti-social behaviour.

Last year, it was revealed that People United Against Crime was leading a project to develop an intelligence system which could protect freight companies from organised criminals. The system – called NS FRITS – will help freight companies by warning drivers about crime hot spots, bad weather and traffic congestion using official sources. The information will be sent to drivers in text, graphic and map formats.

It is being supported by public and private sector organisations including Volvo, Humberside Police, Huddersfield University, the Dutch police and the University of Hull.

Security boost pays off for firm

DONCASTER-based engineering firm Polydon was troubled by burglaries and criminal damage until its security system was improved with help from the Business Crime Reduction Centre (BCRC).

Polydon’s managing director Harold Howard was “at his wits’ end”.

After seeking advice from BCRC, the company successfully applied for funding to pay for a new barrier with access controls and an upgraded CCTV and lighting system.

Since the system was installed, no further crimes have been committed.