Crimes against Retail Business in Botswana

Abstract

The main issue addressed in this study is the identification of the nature, scope, and the rate of retail crimes in Botswana and to measure its magnitude in terms of the total amount of money lost to theft as a basis for analyzing retail business security needs. Data were collected from a random sample of 52 retail businesses using a self- administered questionnaire under the supervision of trained assistants. The universality of the crime against retail business was revealed in the study. 11 (eleven) crimes against retail business in Botswana were identified; Non- employee and employee thefts were found to be the most frequent; cheque fraud, credit card fraud, failing to ring up sales were found to be less frequent; while trespass, arson, vandalism, smash and grab, break and entry and assault against staff were relatively uncommon. The bulk of the thefts were carried out mainly in the evenings. The analysis of variance test (ANOVA) showed that there is no significant difference in the rate of crime among types of retail business. The costs of both employee and non-employee thefts for 5,565 retailers in Botswana were calculated to be P121, 902,883.20 or $20,317,147.20 (US dollars) in 2005. This figure will certainly increase depending on the number of branches each retailer has. The true impact of the problem was revealed. Prudent business will therefore set out to prevent itself from becoming a victim which also has positive effects on profits.