The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) yesterday published the results of its national crime survey. The survey found that 35% of business have been the victim of crime in the past twelve months, with 75% experiencing more than two incidents.
The survey found that the most common crime is burglary and Dublin businesses are most impacted by crime.
Fifty four percent of enterprises stated the direct cost of criminal activity was €1,000-€5,000, while 10% of business stated that direct cost was more than €10,000. Twenty one percent of respondents said they believe that crime in their locality is 'getting worse,' down from 28% in 2016. This is an improvement of 7% from 2016.
Furtermore, the survey found that SME owner-managers rate an increase in Garda numbers as the most effective deterrent against crime at 79%. Tougher sentencing follows behind on 71%, while 61% would like to see more CCTV in town centres.
Speaking yesterday, ISME CEO, Neil McDonnell said, "Today's results represent a mixed bag. It is disappointing to see levels of crime against business increasing. The cost of crime can have a devastating impact on businesses. Crime not only reduces profit and increases cost, but it affects corporate reputation and employee morale."
He added, "We have made eleven recommendations we feel would reduce business crime. One of these recommendations is the introduction of a single, national definition for business crime in Ireland under the ICCS Offence Groups published by the CSO, as is done in the UK. Such a move would allow for offences to be properly tagged, measured, analysed and ultimately solved by An Garda Síochána."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
