Police should make cutting crime against business a priority, one industry body has claimed.
According to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), crime against companies cists a total of £12.6 billion a year and makes up a sixth of the total cost of all crime in the country.
The BCC's director general, David Frost, has written to the home secretary to call for the Association of Chief Police Officers to make cutting crimes against business one of their key performance indicators.
He said: "Businesses are the lifeblood of communities and crimes against business have a damaging impact on both the economic growth and future prosperity of local areas... Increasing numbers of businesses are losing confidence in the police's ability to address their concerns about crime."
In a survey, the BCC found that 59 per cent of businesses have experienced at least one incident of crime in the last 12 months.
It also found that 68 per cent of firms do not feel that the police are dealing with the issues that are most important to their interests.
Last week, the BCC called on the government to do more to help SMEs battle cyber-crime.
