NCJ Number
148664
Date Published
1994
Length
150 pages
Annotation
This 1992 survey of crimes against Australian businesses found that crime was considered to be a serious neighborhood problem by nearly 25 percent of businesses and that businesses in retail nonfood and tourism/recreation sectors were most likely to perceive a serious or fairly serious crime problem.
Abstract
Medium-sized businesses fared worse than either smaller or larger businesses, particularly in the manufacturing industry sector, but there was a distinct tendency for perceptions of crime against retailers to worsen with increasing business size. Almost half of large food retailers said they had a serious crime problem in their neighborhood. Perceptions of crime were worse in built-up areas outside city centers than they were in city centers themselves. Special business zones, however, including industrial estates, business parks, and shopping precincts, were more likely to suffer a range of neighborhood problems, including crime, than other business locations. Nearly half of all businesses were not victimized by crime in 1992. Of businesses experiencing crime, burglary was the most common offense type. Almost 60 percent of burglary victims were burglarized more than once during the year. Only about 20 percent of all businesses experienced vandalism in 1992. Business perceptions of crime were related to the presence of unruly children and teenagers in the neighborhood. The total cost of crime in Australia for 1992 was estimated to range between $3.8 and $4.7 billion. With respect to crime prevention, large businesses were much more likely than small businesses to employ security measures. Only one in six businesses had contacted the police about crime or crime prevention.