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ODL- Evaluate the effectiveness of property law in protecting business organizations. Introduction This assignment will include information about property crime, how businesses deal with it and whether the punishments for property crime are effective enough. What is property crime? Property crime is a classification of crime that includes, among other crimes, burglary, larceny, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, shoplifting, and vandalism. Property crime only includes the taking of money or property, and doesn’t involve force or intimidation of force against a victim.
An example of property crime would be “A parameter worker who was Jailed for stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds of Sad gift vouchers “amassed a fortune” which she spent on luxury holidays, artwork and lavish ornaments, police have said. Jennifer Margaret Ward, 49, of Wigwagging Road, York and her partner Alistair Gordon Lobar, 52, of the same address, were sent to prison for a total of three years following what North Yorkshire Police described as a “bizarre” and “complex investigation into theft and money laundering”. Http://www. Emissaries. Co. UK/news/national/news/ 10472406. Sad_worker_Jailed_for_huge_theft/ Property Crime Rate Here are the current statistics for the property crime rate within the UK Shoplifting – 36% Employee theft – 33% Administrative losses – 25% Supplier fraud – 6% The total cost involved with all of this is over E. 4 billion. Latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSCW) estimate that there were 8. 6 million crimes in England and Wales in 2013. Mobile phones were the most commonly stolen item in incidents of theft.
This affects everyone as they are more cautious towards using their mobile phones and businesses that sell mobile phones will add more security when selling their phones. Shoplifting represented the biggest problem to I-J retailers which was equal to El . 224 billion. However, theft by employees was also a major concern which equaled to 33%. In the I-J, food theft has increased in the last year. The reason behind this is the current time of financial hardship. From 2012 to 2013 there were 9. 2 million crimes against businesses, which had increased from 8. Million from 2011 to 2012. ‘ Premises in the wholesale and retail sector also experienced the highest rate of crime which were mostly shoplifting crimes. There were a total of 4. Million incidents of shoplifting predicted. Transportation and storage premises had the highest rate of vehicle related theft Manufacturing premises experienced low rates of crimes. With property crime at this rate it makes businesses cautious about protecting their business as it’s not a certainty that they won’t be affected.
Crime could strike a business at any time so they have to be aware of defending themselves if they ODL- Evaluate the effectiveness of property law in protecting business organizations By stoniest happen to be a victim. It the law on property crime was detective enough then it oldest take place in the first place and businesses wouldn’t have to take measures into their own hands. Who deals with property crime and how? The Police are the ones who usually deal with property crime, and once a crime is reported they then open up an investigation to see if they can find the offender(s).
However one problem there is the shortage of police officers, this means it can be difficult to keep up with the property crime rate . The police will interview the victim. After the interview the police need to take samples from where the crime took place, such as photos or fingerprints. An investigation can take time and once the police find the offender a number of things can be done. The police may decide to caution the offender but the police do not decide the outcome of a case, they are instead responsible for collecting evidence and passing it the CAPS.
The CAPS has to consider the impact on the victim and the victim’s family, in making a decision about whether or not it is in the public interest to prosecute. The offender can plead guilty or not guilty depending on the sufficient evidence against them. A trial is then held and the court decides the outcome. Purpose of sentencing If the offender gets sentenced then this has an effect on them as they face the consequences and they don’t want to spend time in prison again so they don’t commit another crime.
It removes their freedom to move about in society for some specified period of time. Criminals may realism what they have done wrong and will be deterred from committing further crimes as they fear the consequences of being sent to prison once again. Other potential offenders may get put off from committing crimes as they fear the consequences of being caught and don’t want to spend time n prison. Also businesses will be protected from being victims of property crime as the offender is in prison and with this being publicized other offenders may stop committing crimes.
In 201 1,219,000 defendants were found guilty in magistrates’ courts and out of that number 119,800 were sentenced to prison from property crime. Is it effective? Criminal law is designed to maintain social order and to protect the right of the public. The UK is a capitalist country therefore criminal law is also important in protecting personal property and creating a positive environment for economic activity. But the question is how effective is property crime law? It is only effective to a certain extent, this is because people still commit crimes and if the law was completely effective then no one would commit property crime.
If harsher punishments were to be introduced then I think the rate of property would decrease as people would fear the consequences. ‘The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSCW) shows substantial falls in property crime, with levels having fallen by half since they peaked in the mid-1990. These falls were driven by large reductions in rimes such as vandalism, vehicle-related theft and burglary. While these high volume crime types continue to show falls, in contrast recent trends show increases in the lower volume personal theft offences such as theft from the person recorded by the police. Protecting your own business For a business it can be difficult to deal with property crime taking place this is because you are never aware tot when it can happen. Businesses can protect themselves in a number of ways. One way of protecting themselves from property crime is by installing CATV around the premises, this usually deters criminals as they eel they will be caught on footage. Also businesses could set up an alarm system, if anyone enters the premises by force or causes damages then the alarm will sound notifying the business owners but also the police.
Businesses should add shutters, strengthen doors, locks and install security lighting as these would deter burglars Another way of protecting the business is by hiring a security guard, this will make the business feel a safer place as they are always on the lookout for criminals . And as well as stopping criminals they also deter them. By using them methods businesses an protect their business from property crime. The cost of protecting your business can be quite expensive but is it really worth paying thousands of pounds Just to protect it?
The answer most definitely is yes, this is because if businesses didn’t take any security measures then criminals would take notice of this and they would be vulnerable and be an easy target for them. Businesses can hold substantial amounts of goods and it’s better to protect these and the business itself rather than being deprived by offenders and losing out on everything. Plus installing security equipment will protect the business its whole life. If business isn’t protect and their goods are stolen, there’s very little chance of retrieving the goods and this can mean a business has very little to sell and may have to close down.
Why Businesses have to protect themselves as they are the leading target for property crime. The law only protects them up to a certain extent, this is because property crime still takes place therefore businesses have to take extra precautions to protect themselves. For example if you look at Tests they have CATV, Security guards, security gas and alarm systems. Businesses also have insurance so if anything is to happen then the insurance can cover damages. If they didn’t have any of them then it would be easy for offenders to commit property crime such as theft without getting caught.
When property crime takes place it affects everyone as businesses lose out on money so they raise their prices which affects customers as they have to spend extra. As the insurance has to pay for any damages to the business then the insurance company increases the insurance cost the business pays. Case Example Armed robbers raid Blackburn Jeweler GUNMEN burst into a town centre Jewelry shop before making off with several thousands of pounds of designer Jewelry and Role watches.
One of the robbers smashed display cabinets with hammers, while the other threatened workers with what police believe were a black handgun. They grabbed the high-value items from the front window of Huntresses Jeweler, in King William Street, Blackburn, before running off in different directions. The display contained a range of men’s watches each costing between ?¬3,990 and E,990. Conclusion In conclusion and by using the points made above, it is safe to say that the law does rooter business organizations but this is only up to a certain extent.
This means businesses nave to protect themselves because it they didn’t then the rate tot property crime would be very high as offenders would get away with crimes easily. The law could do better in protecting businesses because businesses pay numerous taxes and they feel they should get something back from the government.. I think more improvements are needed to as in harsher punishments should be given in order for property crime decrease more because no crime will ever completely vanish.