South Yorkshire Firms Asked To Share Their Experiences With Business Crime Through A New Survey

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Organisations across South Yorkshire are being asked to share their experiences with business crime, via a new poll conducted by the three regional chambers of commerce.

Open from now until Monday the 9^th of December, the Business Crime Survey aims to find out how often local firms are targeted by things like shoplifting, burglary, theft from motor vehicles, fraud, assault and cyber-attacks, as well as the effect that these illegal activities can have on their day-to-day operations. 

In addition to gathering said insights, the questionnaire will gauge respondents’ awareness of the various different support mechanisms that are out there to help them, while also asking them to rate how satisfied they have been with the response to any incidents that may have been reported in the past.

As always, the South Yorkshire chambers will be carefully parsing the results of this survey once it closes in a few weeks’ time and will be listening attentively to what the business community has to say. Among other things, the findings will be used to: better understand the scale of the problem when it comes to business crime in our region; figure out what more can be done to support firms with these challenges; and articulate to key partners (including the police) where improvements are needed most.

Encouraging businesses to make their voices heard here, the respective Chief Execs for the three South Yorkshire Chambers — covering Sheffield, Doncaster and Barnsley & Rotherham — issued the following joint statement:

“From our regular interactions with members, we already know just how profound an effect business crime can have on an individual organisation; whether it takes the form of reputational damage, financial harm, customer loss or an impact on staff wellbeing. From SMEs right through to larger corporations, this is a major concern that spans all sectors and industries, which is why we are so keen to get under the bonnet of it via our new survey.

“By sparing just a few minutes to anonymously describe their experiences here, business-owners will be enabling us to fight more effectively in their corner. Indeed, we will be using the results to lobby for meaningful change, to make sure that the best possible support is available to firms on the ground when it comes to dealing with crime, and to hopefully make South Yorkshire’s private sector less vulnerable to such activity in the first place. 

“To do this well, however, we need as many different perspectives as possible. After all, the greater the response to our questionnaire, the more authentically we will be able to represent businesses on this hot-button issue.”

The latest iteration of the South Yorkshire Quarterly Economic Survey (QES), the Business Crime Survey is sponsored by Clear Insurance Management and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).

Explaining how the latter organisation will use the results, South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, added: “We need businesses to have the confidence to invest; but that means listening to businesses about what undermines that confidence. I know crime and security are huge concerns for our business community, from fraud to shoplifting. So, as I develop my first Police and Crime Plan, I’m determined to listen and to learn. That’s why I need businesses to fill in the Business Crime Survey, so I can understand their needs and priorities, and what they want to see in that Plan.”

As with all versions of the QES, the Business Crime Survey also contains a number of standard questions relating to the broader economy. Repeated every quarter — to observe if there are any noteworthy fluctuations, developing trends or other points of interest — these insights feed into the nationwide QES: which itself articulates how the UK private sector at large is fairing. More information can be found here.