Firms spend €2bn on fighting crime

Small businesses are spending €2.02bn a year fighting crime — yet one in six companies has been the victim of crime over the last 24 months, according to the Small Firms Association.

And internal fraud has rocketed, jumping from just 3% of crime impacting small firms in 2009 to 10% in 2012.

Commenting on the its National Small Business Crime Survey, SFA director Patricia Callan said the business community is under constant attack from planned, professional criminality.

“There is an enormous psychological price being paid by business people as crime is now more organised, more professional, more ruthless and more pervasive,” she said.

Ms Callan said the costs associated with crime are increasing rapidly with the current survey showing the costs incurred per single incident of crime ranging from €100 to €35,000, with the average cost per incident being €4,518, an increase of nearly 55% on 2009 figure.

She said: “The capital expenditure by respondents on security measures average €6,133 per company or a total investment of €2.02bn per annum for all small businesses.”

She said a large part of the cost burden falls on retailers who are especially vulnerable to crime and find themselves spending large sums of money on security measures they can ill afford.

“While the use of intruder alarms remains the most common security system with nearly 81% of firms having a system in place, the survey indicates that as crime is becoming more sophisticated, firms are putting more complex security systems in place.

“The use of CCTV has increased to just over 53%, while the number of electronic access control systems have risen to nearly 37%.

“Firms also use alternative security services such as mobile and static security patrols; guard dogs and key holding services. Over 50% of firms test their security systems on an annual basis,” she said.

Ms Callan said small firms who do not have the necessary internal controls in place are open season for fraud and theft.

“It must be treated as an everyday risk and firms who do not take preventive steps are exposing their business to serious losses.”

She said over the last two years small firms have increasingly become the victims of a range of scams, identity fraud, phishing and data theft.