A LACK of faith in Hampshire police has led to more than a quarter of businesses failing to report crime, new figures reveal.

Just 45 per cent of victims regularly report business crime to police, according to a survey, with almost half who chose not to report doing so because they had “no confidence” in police.

Other reasons for staying silent included lack of time, relatively small losses and fears that reporting would boost insurance premiums.

The online survey asked Hampshire firms how they report crimes including theft from businesses, damage to commercial buildings, credit card fraud and cyber-crime.

Just under half of respondents claimed to be victims, but less than half of firms which reported incidents were satisfied with the force’s response.

Hampshire Constabulary announced major changes in how it records crimes on Tuesday after a Government report criticised “unacceptable weaknesses” in its system.

Hampshire police and crime commissioner Simon Hayes will use the survey results to launch a tailored strategy for business crime.

He said: “Clearly there are concerns within the business community that more needs to be done to improve confidence in the police and their response to reports of crime committed against businesses.

“The chief constable has already started to implement measures to more effectively deal with business crime reports and how the constabulary will work more closely with businesses to improve confidence and understanding. I want to see Hampshire Constabulary improve the consistency in recording crimes against businesses and to improve solved crime rates.”

Just 60 per cent of respondents have sought crime prevention advice and most turned to the Federation of Small Businesses instead of police.