Statistics have been supplied by the UK government on crimes against business and are listed in a report that was updated in June 2022.
“The 2021 Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS) estimated that 38% of business premises in the Wholesale and retail sector in England and Wales had been a victim of crime between April 2020 and March 2021. This is similar to the 2018 prevalence rate (40%), though lower than the 2012 prevalence rate (53%).
“The most common type of crime experienced by premises in the sector was theft (27%), followed by assaults or threats (12%) and burglary (10%).”
30% of retail premises and 17% of wholesale premises were judged likely to experience theft.
Vulnerability in supply chains
The publication Logistics Manager specifically covered thefts from supply chains back in October 2020 and recorded that the UK had taken an unwelcome first place over other EMEA countries.
“Half of all thefts from EMEA supply chains took place in the UK in the first half of 2020, with more than €85 million (£77 million) of products stolen from air, road, sea, and rail freight supply chains.
“According to data from the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), five of the 46 countries recording cargo theft incidents in the first half of 2020 accounted for 87% of losses reported to TAPA, and first was the United Kingdom with 1,670 incidents or 50.9% of the half-year total…
“The UK also recorded the highest number of major cargo losses, according to TAPA, with 56 or 63.6% of all crimes with a value of €100,000 or more during the six month period. These produced a total loss of €27.6 million or an average of €493,905.”
Because Relay specialises in the collection, delivery and storage of highly valuable electronic equipment, we are well aware of the need for maximum levels of security while customer assets are in our hands. We also believe that the precautions we take against damage, loss and theft are second to none.