Official Statistics

Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey: second edition

Updated 11 August 2014

Applies to England and Wales

The Home Office is seeking feedback on the Commercial Victimisation Survey publications so we can assess who our users are and how well the statistics meets user needs in order to make continuous improvements to our outputs. Please could you complete the short survey, which should take no longer than five minutes.

1. Introduction

This is the second release of data from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS), which further examines the extent of crime against businesses in England and Wales. Headline findings from the 2013 CVS were published in February 2014.

This release covers the following topics:

  • Nature of crimes against businesses
  • Experience of crime against business premises, by business and location characteristics, for the core CVS crime types
  • Crime prevention
  • Costs of crime against businesses
  • Anti-social behaviour and perceptions of policing, cyber crime and theft from customers
  • A technical annex

A summary of the key findings for each of these topics can be found below. For further details, please see Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey.

2. Crime against wholesale and retail premises

2.1 Introduction

Respondents to the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) from the wholesale and retail sector were asked if the business at their current premises had experienced a range of crime types in the 12 months prior to interview and, if so, how many incidents of crime had been experienced.

As the wholesale and retail sector was covered by the 2012 and 2013 CVS, data from these two surveys have been combined in order to provide more robust estimates of crimes against businesses in this sector. This dataset is referred to in this section as the combined CVS dataset. More detail on the method used to produce this data is available in the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey technical annex.

High level statistics on crimes against wholesale and retail premises were published in the headline findings report.

2.2 Key facts

Wholesale and retail premises in London experienced the highest rate of crime.

There were variations in the rate of crime by region, with London experiencing 30,466 incidents of crime per 1,000 premises, the highest rate of all regions in England and Wales, which was driven by theft, as shown in Figure 1. Premises in the South West experienced the lowest rate of crime (11,687 incidents per 1,000 premises).

Figure 1: Number of incidents of crime per 1,000 premises experienced by the wholesale and retail sector in the last 12 months, by region in England and Wales, 2012 and 2013 CVS

This chart shows the number of incidents of all CVS crime per 1,000 premises experienced by the wholesale and retail sector in the last 12 months, by region in England and Wales

Chart notes:

Source: Home Office, 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey Experience of crime by characteristics – incidence tables.

Shoplifting rates were highest in urban areas and at supermarkets.

Incidents of thefts by customers at wholesale and retail premises were around three times higher in urban (11,425 incidents per 1,000 premises) than in rural areas (3,811 incidents per 1,000 premises). Meanwhile, retail supermarkets had a substantially higher rate of thefts by customers (87,890 incidents per 1,000 premises) than other types of premises in this sector.

Goods and stock were most commonly stolen item during thefts.

In 92% of all incidents of thefts by customers at wholesale and retail premises, goods or stock were stolen. This proportion was lower for other types of theft, although goods or stock were still the most commonly stolen item: around three quarters (78%) of theft by unknown incidents and 53% of theft by employee incidents.

Smaller premises were much less likely to have security measures on their stock

Wholesale and retail premises with less than ten employees were less likely to have stock or equipment protection measures in place (32%) than those with more than 50 employees (77%).

However, the most costly incidents were burglary with entry.

Burglary with entry cost £1,376 per incident on average at wholesale and retail premises compared with other crime types which had average costs ranging from £40 to £500 per incident.

Larger businesses spent around 50 times more than smaller premises on security.

The average security spend (not including IT) was £376, but varied according to the size of wholesale and retail premises. For those premises with fewer than 10 employees the average spend on non-IT security was £300, rising to £15,000 for premises with more than 50 employees.

2.3 Data tables and further information

Additional results are presented in the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey detailed figures tables.

For further detail on the results presented here, please see Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey.

For methodological details, please see the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey technical annex section of the report.

3. Crime against accommodation and food premises

3.1 Introduction

Respondents to the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) from the accommodation and food sector were asked if the business at their current premises had experienced a range of crime types in the 12 months prior to interview and, if so, how many incidents of crime had been experienced. This sector includes businesses such as hotels, restaurants, take-away food shops and licensed clubs, pubs and bars.

As the accommodation and food sector was covered by the 2012 and 2013 CVS, data from these two surveys have been combined in order to provide more robust estimates of crimes against businesses in this sector. This data is referred to in this section as the combined CVS dataset. More detail on the method used to produce this data is available in the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey technical annex.

High level statistics on crimes against accommodation and food premises were published in the headline findings report.

3.2 Key facts

The East of England and London experienced the highest rates of crime against the accommodation and food sector.

Accommodation and food premises in the East of England had the highest rate of crime (7,362 incidents per 1,000 premises) of all regions in England and Wales, driven by a high rate of thefts. However, if thefts are excluded, London had the highest overall crime incident rate (5,365 non-theft incidents per 1,000 premises).

With the exception of theft offences, the majority of most recent incidents against accommodation and food premises of the other crime types took place during the evening or at night, which is likely to reflect the night time economy of this sector (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Proportion of most recent incident of each crime type taking place by day of week, accommodation and food sector, 2012 and 2013 CVS

This chart shows the proportion of most recent incident of each crime type taking place by day of week in the accommodation and food sector

Chart notes:

Source: Home Office, 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey Nature of crime against businesses tables.

Retail units and pubs, clubs, bars experienced the highest rates of crime when compared with other business types in this sector.

Businesses operating out of retail units experienced 7,426 incidents of CVS crime per 1,000 accommodation and food premises, while pubs, clubs or bars experienced 7,162 incidents per 1,000 premises. In comparison, restaurants and other food outlets (such as takeaways) experienced relatively low rates (4,394 and 3,596 incidents per 1,000 premises respectively).

Although theft and assaults and threats were the most common crime types experienced, burglary with entry had the highest cost per incident.

Burglary with entry at accommodation and food premises cost £360 per incident on average compared with other crime types which had median costs ranging from £40 to £200 per incident.

The majority of premises in this sector employ outer security measures.

Around three quarters (78%) of premises in the accommodation and food sector had outer security measures in place. Of these premises, 75% had security lighting and 64% had CCTV, the two most common outer security measures.

Larger businesses spent around 20 times more than smaller premises on security.

At accommodation and food premises the average security spend (excluding IT) was £250, but varied according to the size of the premises. For those premises with fewer than 10 employees the average spend on non-IT security was £126 rising to £2,500 for premises with more than 50 employees.

3.3 Data tables and further information

Additional results are presented in the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey detailed figures tables. For further detail on the results presented here, please see the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey.

For methodological details, please see the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey technical annex section of the report.

4. Crime against arts, entertainment and recreation premises

4.1 Introduction

Premises from the arts, entertainment and recreation sector were covered by the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) for the first time in 2013. The arts, entertainment and recreation sector (hereafter referred to as the ‘recreation’ sector) includes a wide range of businesses such as sporting facilities, gyms, gambling or betting facilities and theatres. Respondents to the 2013 CVS from this sector were asked if the business at their current premises had experienced any of a range of crime types in the 12 months prior to interview and, if so, how many incidents of crime had been experienced.

High level statistics on crimes against recreation premises were published in the headline findings report.

4.2 Key facts

Recreation premises in Wales experienced the highest rate of crime.

There were variations in the rate of crime by region, with Wales experiencing 2,772 incidents of crime per 1,000 premises, the highest rate of all regions in England and Wales and was driven by theft.

Incidents of theft by customers were more likely to take place during the day.

As shown in Figure 3, around three-quarters (76%) of thefts by customers at recreation premises took place during the morning or afternoon (6am to 6pm). Conversely, the majority of vandalism, attempted burglary and burglary incidents took place in the evening or at night.

Figure 3: Proportion of most recent incidents taking place by time of day and crime type, recreation sector, 2013 CVS

This chart shows the proportion of most recent incidents taking place by time of day and crime type in the recreation sector

Chart notes:

Source: Home Office, 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey Nature of crime against businesses tables.

Goods and stock were the most commonly stolen items in incidents of theft.

For theft by customers at recreation premises, goods or stock were stolen in almost half (47%) of all incidents. For theft by persons unknown, goods or stock (34%) and other company property (36%) were each stolen in around a third of incidents.

Compared with the other sectors, the recreation sector reported the highest average cost of theft by customers.

The median cost to recreation premises of thefts by customers was £100. This is more than twice as large as average cost of theft by customers reported by the wholesale and retail sector and the accommodation and food sector (both at £40).

The majority of premises in this sector had outer security measures and burglar alarms.

Eighty-seven per cent of recreation premises had outer security measures and 83% had burglar alarms, these were the highest proportions of any of the four sectors covered by the 2013 CVS.

Employees were more likely to be victims of threats by customers than other types of assault or threat.

At recreation premises whose employees had been victims of assaults or threats, the most commonly reported incident involved a threat by a customer (80% of assaults and threats were of this nature).

4.3 Data tables and further information

Additional results are presented in the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey detailed figures tables.

For further detail on the results presented here, please see the [Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/342577/crime-against-businesses-detailed-13.pdf).

For methodological details, please see the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey technical annex section of the report.

5. Crime against agriculture, forestry and fishing premises

5.1 Introduction

Premises from the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector were covered by the Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) for the first time in 2013. Respondents to the 2013 CVS from this sector were asked if the business at their current premises had experienced any of a range of crime types in the 12 months prior to interview and, if so, how many incidents of crime had been experienced.

High level statistics on crimes against agriculture, forestry and fishing premises were published in the headline findings report.

5.2 Key facts

Agriculture, forestry and fishing premises in Wales experienced the highest rate of crime.

There were variations in the rate of crime by region, with Wales experiencing 6,993 incidents of crime per 1,000 premises, the highest rate of all regions in England and Wales, driven by theft and vandalism.

Crime in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector is more prevalent against the more accessible premises.

The rate of crime was higher for those premises near motorways or dual carriageways. For example the number of incidents of both vandalism and burglary per 1,000 premises were at least twice as high where the nearest motorway or dual carriageway was less than a 5 minute drive away, compared with those premises with main roads more than a 15 minute drive away.

In this sector, the take up of outer security measures is high, although the prevalence of burglar alarms is relatively low.

In contrast to the other CVS sectors, where the majority of premises have alarms installed, only a third (32%) of agriculture, forestry and fishing premises had a burglar alarm installed. However, almost 9 out of 10 premises (86%) had outer security measures, which include security lighting, CCTV, barbed wire and anti-climb fences.

However, premises with burglar alarms and other security measures were more likely to experience crime than those without.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing premises with burglar alarms installed were more than twice as likely to have experienced burglary than those without an alarm (475 incidents per 1,000 premises with an alarm compared with 187 without one). However, further analysis suggests that this is likely to be because those premises with alarms are at a higher risk (due to location or goods/services provided) and the presence of security measures has not fully offset the risks of victimisation.

Conversely, vandalism rates were lower at premises with certain security measures.

Where window and door security measures were installed at agriculture, forestry and fishing premises, those with security and door locks had the lowest vandalism rates (510 incidents per 1,000 premises). Where outer security measures were installed, those with security lighting had the lowest vandalism rates (517 incidents per 1,000 premises).

Two fifths of premises were also affected by sector specific incidents such as trespassing.

Two-fifths (40%) of agriculture, forestry and fishing premises in the sector experienced at least one sector specific incident which while being a nuisance, are not necessarily crimes (see Figure 4). The most common incident of this type was trespassing or unauthorised access to land or buildings, which 29% of premises in the sector experienced.

This chart shows the percentage of premises experiencing specific sector-related incidents, by type, in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector

Chart notes:

Source: Home Office, 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey ASB and perceptions of policing tables.

5.3 Data tables and further information

Additional results are presented in the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey detailed figures tables. For further detail on the results presented here, please see the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey.

For methodological details, please see the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey technical annex section of the report.

6. Anti-social behaviour and perceptions of policing, cyber crime and theft from customers

6.1 Introduction

Respondents to the 2013 CVS were asked questions on their experience of anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the last 12 months and, separately, about contact with and perceptions of the police. Results of these are presented in this section alongside analysis on the perception/worry about cyber crime and impact of theft from customers (as opposed to theft by customers). Note that all the data presented in this section are based on single year data, ie that from the 2013 CVS only. This is due to changes in the question set between the two years making a combined data set difficult to establish.

6.2 Key facts

The majority of business premises were not affected by ASB and do not perceive it to be a problem in their area.

According to the 2013 survey, over 80% of premises in each of the four sectors were unaffected by ASB. Furthermore, at least two-thirds of business premises in each sector did not think ASB was a problem in their area.

The majority of premises are satisfied with the way police handle crime in their area, however the level of satisfaction was lower for victims of crime.

The proportion of premises satisfied ranged from 69% of agriculture, forestry and fishing premises to 82% of accommodation and food premises, as shown in Figure 5. Across all four sectors, those premises that had been victims of crime had a greater level of dissatisfaction than those which had not experienced crime.

Figure 5: Proportion of premises satisfied with the way police handle crime in the area by sector, 2013 CVS

This chart shows the proportion of premises satisfied with the way police handle crime in the area by sector

Chart notes:

Source: Home Office, 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey ASB and perceptions of policing tables.

Around half of premises had some degree of worry about cyber crime.

Fifty-four per cent of wholesale and retail premises and 48% of accommodation and food premises said that they had some degree of worry about cyber crime, although the proportion in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector was higher at 69%. Despite this, in all three sectors, the majority of these said that they were not very worried.

Half of wholesale and retail premises open to the public think theft from customers is a problem to some degree.

Of those premises open to the public, 49% of wholesale and retail reported that theft from customers (as opposed to theft by customers) was a problem.

6.3 Data tables and further information

Additional results are presented in the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey detailed figures tables.

For further detail on the results presented here, please see the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey.

For methodological details, please see the Crime against businesses: detailed findings from the 2013 Commercial Victimisation Survey technical annex section of the report.

For details of the changes to the first edition, please see the full report.

The Home Office is seeking feedback on the Commercial Victimisation Survey publications so we can assess who our users are and how well the statistics meets user needs in order to make continuous improvements to our outputs. Please could you complete the short survey, which should take no longer than five minutes.