BUSINESSES in the north west have lost faith in the police and the criminal justice system, a new report has revealed.

The survey shows that 41 per cent of busineses which have suffered crime in the past year have not reported certain incidents to police because they did not believe it would achieve anything.

The shocking statistic is higher than any other UK region.

Thousands of businesses throughout the region were quizzed for the Federation of Small Business's (FSB) "Lifting the Barriers to Growth" survey.

Figures for the north west also highlighted that more than 28 per cent did not report crimes against their business because they did not think police would find the criminals. A further 23 per cent simply did not think that a prosecution would ever take place.

The survey also revealed:

60 per cent of businesses experienced some kind of crime in the past year.

A fifth had suffered vandalism and or vehicle theft.

16 percent were burgled.

5 per cent had experienced violent crime. Business owners fearing for the safety of themselves and their staff are on the increase.

The FSB, which represents around 18,000 businesses in Manchester, Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire and Merseyside, now intends to highlight the results to chief constables throughout the north west.

Regional policy manager Paul Henly said: "Crime is a serious and growing problem for small businesses. Not only is there the cost of replacing or repairing whatever is stolen or damaged but there is also the added cost of time spent dealing with the incident.

"It is this valuable time element which appears to be stopping small businesses from contacting the police; many simply don't believe that it is worth the effort when they have suffered at the hands of vandals or even burglars."

He continued: "Small businesses contribute a significant amount to the local economy. If such high percentages of those experiencing crime are choosing to not even report the matter then it shows that the true cost of crime against businesses is being masked by apathy.

"Rising insurance costs are another worry for small businesses and could be a reason why many are choosing to keep quiet about crime. The cost of running a business is high enough without seeing insurance premiums inflate thanks to the cost of crime.

"And it could also mean that published police crime detection rates are even worse than they appear."