DOZENS of small business representatives will gather near York this month to plot their battle against rising crime against small enterprises.

Leaders and members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Britain's biggest business representative body, are discussing the growing impact of crime at a one-day workshop being addressed by the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire, Della Cannings on Friday March 18.

The workshop, Putting Crime Out Of Business, at Askham Grange Prison, follows an FSB survey which found that more crimes are committed against small businesses in Yorkshire than anywhere else in Britain, costing them millions of pounds a year.

The workshop is being held in association with North Yorkshire Police, HM Prison Service, Yorkshire Forward, People United Against Crime, and Government Office Yorkshire and Humber, and will include presentations on how the police are tackling business crime and what owners and managers of small enterprises can do more to protect themselves and their staff, products and premises.

The FSB survey, titled Lifting The Barriers To Growth In UK Small Businesses, which included responses from businesses in York and North Yorkshire, revealed that almost half FSB member businesses questioned had been victims of crime in the past 12 months.

The most common attacks were vandalism (32 per cent), vehicle damage (30 per cent), vehicle theft (13 per cent), robbery (ten per cent) and burglary (20 per cent). All are the highest incidence of such crimes in the UK.

The FSB's Yorkshire and Humber policy chairman, Mark Jefferies, said: "Crime against small businesses in York and North Yorkshire distracts owner managers from concentrating on running their enterprise in a highly competitive environment.

"As a proportion of turnover, crime against small businesses is significant and is highly damaging as more than 90 per cent off all employees work in small enterprises."

Ms Cannings, said: "For the last two years reported crime has been falling consistently right across York and North Yorkshire while the number of crimes detected has been rising.

"This is no accident, but the result of positive, professional policing supported by our partner agencies and our local communities. I see this event as an excellent opportunity to develop the partnership philosophy."

Any business wanting to attend should phone FSB policy officer Denise Wilson on 015242 51214

Updated: 10:52 Thursday, March 10, 2005