TACKLING BUSINESS CRIME

Crime in Cheshire has fallen again, by 11%, a report to the Police Authority revealed today.

Margaret Ollerenshaw, Chairman of the Police Authority said, “The Authority has welcomed the news that the total number of recorded crimes has fallen, this means that there were over four thousand fewer victims of crime this summer.

We had expected that the numbers of burglaries from homes, business and cars might increase during a time of economic recession but this has not been the case, this type of crime has also fallen by 7%, over 400 fewer victims.

Very importantly, the Authority was pleased to hear that the number of business crimes has fallen by 32% as this was introduced as a specific area for the Chief Constable to focus on in this years objectives”.

Last year, the Authority surveyed over 800 businesses in Cheshire which showed that whilst 75% of the businesses who responded to the survey were confident that the police were dealing with crime and anti-social behaviour issues, only 56% felt that their crime/incident was investigated. Representatives from the Chambers of Commerce also felt that the Constabulary needed to create stronger links with the business community to prevent and detect crime and to give business crime a greater priority.

As a result, the reduction of business crime was introduced as a priority performance measure in the 2009-12 Policing Plan and from April to September this year, only 42 robberies have been recorded which is 33% better than the target.

Margaret Ollerenshaw added, “the Authority is pleased but must not feel complacent, it is important that victims of business robbery feel confident to report crime to the police, feeling confident that appropriate investigations will be made. Whilst the numbers of these crimes may appear low, their value and impact on people’s livelihoods can be devastating and we want to ensure that the Constabulary take this type of crime seriously.”