The Home Office has today released data obtained following the 2018 Commercial Victimisation Survey which records the nature and extent of crimes committed against businesses in England and Wales. The 2018 survey focusses primarily on the following sectors; agriculture, forestry and fishing; wholesale and retail and accommodation and food.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing sector
This sector was firstly considered as part of the survey in 2013 and the results from the most recent survey which covered 1,002 premises have been contrasted with the initial findings. In summary, most crime types in this sector showed a fall between 2013 – 2018, save for offences of fraud and robbery which showed a non-significant increase. The findings indicated that 26% of businesses in the sector had at least one crime incident, but this was lower than 2013 when the figure stood at 30%. The most common crime type recorded in the 2018 survey in this sector was vandalism which accounted for 34%, which was followed by burglary at 22% and fraud at 16%.
Wholesale and retail
The wholesale and retail sector estimates are based on responses from 2,000 premises. The findings suggest that 27,400 incidents took place per every 1,000 premises which continued the recent upward trend which has been seen in this sector. Since 2015, it is noted that this figure has risen from 12,400 to the current figure which has been driven by rises in theft by customers, which is noted as the most common crime type in this sector. However, the proportion of premises that experienced a crime has fallen since 2012 from 53% to 40% in the current survey, which shows a degree of targeted criminal conduct. The value of items stolen is broadly similar to that in 2012, with the majority of items stolen being under £100. However, there has been an increase in items which are valued in excess of £300.
Accommodation and food
Crime in this sector was recorded at approximately 5,000 incidents per, 1000 premises. This is in excess if the incidence rate which was recorded in 2013 at 4,600 but significantly less than the 7,400 figure which was recorded in 2012. The survey suggests that the proportion of premises experiencing crime fell compared with the 2012 survey. In 2012, this figure stood at 43%, but this has now fallen to 35%, which again demonstrates a degree of victimisation and targeted criminal conduct. Theft by customers had the highest crime rate, which accounted for a quarter of all crime incidents. In previous years, the highest incident rate for this sector covered assault and threats. However, this has dropped from 1,900 and 2,200 per 1,000 premises to 1,000.
If you are being investigated for or have been charged with a criminal offence, it is imperative that you seek specialist advice from a criminal defence solicitor to discuss your options. Should you require our assistance please do seek advice from our specialist team of criminal defence solicitors on 01616 966 229.
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