Impact of Crime on Small Businesses Report 2008 - Gauteng Online

THE IMPACT OF CRIME ON SMALL BUSINESSESComparative research in other countries also highlights skewed patterns <strong>of</strong> victimisation,with a minority <strong>of</strong> businesses being repeatedly targeted and accounting for aconsiderable proportion <strong>of</strong> recorded crimes. Studies from America, Australia, the UKand Jamaica indicate that once a business has suffered an incident <strong>of</strong> crime, the risk<strong>of</strong> repeat attacks is considerably higher. Research undertaken in the UK concludesthat “victimisation is the best single predictor <strong>of</strong> victimisation,” that when victimisationrecurs it tends to do so quickly, and that “a major reason for repetition is that<strong>of</strong>fenders take later advantage <strong>of</strong> opportunities which the first <strong>of</strong>fence throws up.”It also suggests that perpetrators who repeatedly victimise the same target tend tobe more established in crime careers than those who do not. 16Factors noted as encouraging repeat victimization include general level <strong>of</strong> crime in thearea, precise site <strong>of</strong> the premises, operational practices and interior and exterior design.The ability <strong>of</strong> businesses to repair breaches to security, and their access to resourcesto enable them to recover from an incident <strong>of</strong> crime, are also key issues.REPEAT VICTIMISATION: THE UK EXPERIENCEA 1998 study in the UK found that among small businesses victimised by crime,five percent suffered 34 percent <strong>of</strong> the most serious incidents, and three percent<strong>of</strong> the sample accounted for 81 percent <strong>of</strong> incidents <strong>of</strong> violence. Seventeen percent<strong>of</strong> businesses accounted for 69 percent <strong>of</strong> all incidents <strong>of</strong> burglary. Repeatvictimisation was particularly prevalent in the retail and manufacturing sectors.Research in the UK has pointed to the benefits <strong>of</strong> targeted work to address repeatvictimisation. The benefits <strong>of</strong> focusing specifically on repeat attacks include:- Automatically concentrating effort on areas <strong>of</strong> highest crime- Automatically concentrating on individuals at greatest risk <strong>of</strong> future victimisation- Enabling resources to be appropriately targeted in time and geographically –by charting the typical time-course <strong>of</strong> repeat incidents- Fusing the roles <strong>of</strong> victim support and crime prevention- Enabling targeting <strong>of</strong> prolific <strong>of</strong>fenders 17In locations described by respondents as high crime areas, two thirds <strong>of</strong> respondentshad experienced one or more incidents <strong>of</strong> crime in the past year. Of these, 22percent had experienced three or more incidents. In moderately high crime areas,just over half the respondents had suffered crimes against their businesses, with 16percent experiencing three or more crimes in the past year. In low crime areas, 57percent <strong>of</strong> businesses had been free <strong>of</strong> any incidents <strong>of</strong> crime, but repeat victimisationwas comparable to that in moderate crime areas.38