NCJ Number
144702
Date Published
1993
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This report considers the work done through England's Safer Cities program to address the problems of small businesses and their vulnerability to crime and notes that crime against small shops and businesses is increasing.
Abstract
The Safer Cities program was announced in March 1988, and 20 local Safer Cities projects have since been established in urban areas. Each project is allocated funds to reduce crime and the fear of crime and to establish safe cities where economic enterprise and community life can flourish. The Safer Cities program recognizes that crime against businesses is substantially greater than crime against individuals and households, and the focus is on burglary. An analysis of multiple victimization indicates that businesses that have been burglarized are at high risk of revictimization in the first few months following the initial incident. Target hardening supported by Safer Cities grants has succeeded in stemming revictimization. Planning for business-related crime prevention can be facilitated by more efficient police recordkeeping and by before-and-after business crime surveys. Security upgrades are effective for individual businesses, although they may not reduce the vulnerability of some areas if offenses are displaced. Further, given the limitations of police data and uncertainties in the area of business crime, a national victim survey is needed to obtain baseline data. Insurance is seen by small businesses in inner cities as a particular problem, and the National Enterprise Insurance Scheme may be helpful in this regard. 31 references and 10 tables