SA may have reduced its murder rate by 50% since 1994, but business robbery rates are up 341% since 2002, according to the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) on Thursday.
Gareth Newham from the ISS told I-Net Bridge/Businesslive on the sidelines of the annual crime conference that improved collaboration between bigger commercial enterprises like banks and malls and the police of late had seen criminals starting to target “softer targets” - smaller businesses like spaza shops.
“They can't afford security, or insurance, and this is a challenge,” he said. He also pointed out that businesses which were not insured were also less likely to report crime.
He said it was important to take note of the impact of crime on businesses as a recent study had shown that 30% of businesses said they would not expand because crime was going up. - I-Net Bridge