According to research from the British Chambers of Commerce companies were not reporting crimes for the following reasons:

• The loss was small or there was no damage to property or people (71%)


• No confidence in the police (42%)


• Too time consuming (29%)


• Unable to contact police (9%)

Paul Foster, local manager for Wigan at Greater Manchester Chamber, said: "It is very worrying that businesses are not reporting crimes. We are particularly concerned by the fact that so many people are failing to report crimes because they have no confidence in the police. This shows that the police still have a lot of work to do to win back business confidence.

"It is understandable that businesses feel that some incidents are too minor to report to police, but this may suggest that some things such as anti-social behaviour by teenagers or petty theft are so common now that businesses just see it as an every day occurrence.

"However, this should not be an excuse for not reporting crimes as only with accurate data can the true scale of the problem be assessed. This in turn makes it easier for us to engage with the appropriate authorities and get something done."

The survey also revealed that 83% of businesses felt crime was a problem and 60% had reported a crime in the last 12 months. Nearly 90% felt there should be dedicated Police Business Crime Advisers and 85% felt that crime against business should be a key performance indicator for the police.

The Chamber is asking for local MPs to sign an Early Day Motion calling for business crime to be recorded by the police as a separate crime.

Miranda Allan, of Allan Environmental Solutions in Wigan, said: "A lot of the companies I work with have a persistent level of business crime, especially in the town centre and people don't report it and because of that the issue is not taken as seriously as it might if the authorities knew the full scale of the problem.

"Anecdotal evidence is that if a vehicle is vandalised or a window is smashed the complainant gets a 'someone will come round in the morning' response. Some do not bother calling anymore, but you should always report a crime to police.

"You wouldn't dream of not reporting a crime against your home. The police need as much local intelligence as possible."
A Wigan police spokesman said: "Greater Manchester Police has a good record of responding to and investigating crimes against businesses.

"Businesses play an important role in communities throughout Greater Manchester and GMP is working to make the region a better, safer place for businesses as well as residents.
"Officers work tirelessly to resolve all criminal matters that are reported."