Since 2004 the Home Office has provided more than £1 million of funding to the Action Against Business Crime Group (AABC) to set up 120 new business crime reduction partnerships in towns and cities across England and Wales. It has also, in partnership with stakeholders, produced a booklet to enable businesses to undertake a crime prevention survey of their premises. More than 125,000 copies of this booklet have so far been printed and distributed. A set of top tips postcards have also been produced giving more general advice to retailers and others on how to reduce the risk of being a victim of crime.
A new strand of the forthcoming Crime Reduction Strategy will include a renewed focus on working with business to see what more can be done to tackle crime problems.
Measures will be taken to raise the profile of business crime among Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) by highlighting the need to tackle this in the Public Service Agreement Delivery Plan. The Home Office will also seek to raise the profile of crime against businesses, to ensure that CDRPs consult and engage with the business community as part of their wider community consultation to identify local priorities.
Neighbourhood policing has been introduced across England and Wales to deal with low-level crime and antisocial behaviour and in some communities this will include, for example, Police Community Support Officers working in partnership with local businesses.