Four business crimes every hour

BUSINESSES fall victim to crime four times per hour in the West Midlands. An analysis of recorded crimes reveals that in 2017/18 there were 37,527 committed against businesses.

The figures include crimes like shoplifting, burglary, robbery, theft by an employee, making off without payment and theft from an automatic machine or meter.

On average there were 4.3 crimes an hour on average affecting West Midlands businesses.

It works out as 1,348 business crimes for every 100,000 people living in the area, one of the highest rates in England and Wales and higher than the national average.

Shoplifting was the most common “business crime”, with 19,883 recorded over the year.

There were 8,642 crimes of making off without paying , 6,279 burglaries, 869 attempted burglaries, and seven aggravated burglaries - when the criminal carries a weapon.

There were also 910 robberies, 359 thefts by employees and 578 thefts from an automatic machine or meter.