Increase in cost of security a concern

Papua New Guinea businesses in 2017 spent at least 10 per cent of their total costs on security, according to the World Bank PNG Economic Update.
The report, released last week, stated that a survey of mostly formal urban firms suggested that businesses incurred average losses of about US$33,000 (K111,000) in stolen property each year.
“Furthermore, 38 per cent of businesses report closing early due to the fear or threat of crime, resulting in losses of over US$30,000 (K101,000) per year,” it said.
“In 2012, break-ins were reported to have affected over 70 per cent of businesses, while more than 50 per cent were also affected by each of vehicle theft, assault of employees off-site, vandalism, and property theft without force.
“By 2017, the situation had improved only marginally, with 64 per cent of respondents indicating that the law-and-order situation negatively influenced their investment decisions (down from 80 percent in 2012).
“Criminal targeting of key logistics routes such as the Highlands Highway impedes the transport of goods and leads to lost business, stocks, and inventories.
“Family and sexual violence (FSV) is widespread, with almost all surveyed firms indicating that they had employees who were victims.
“FSV affects more than just the productivity of victims in the workplace—employees’ physical safety is also being compromised with firms reporting many cases of perpetrators arriving at work sites and committing violence against their workers.”
The update stated that failure of State institutions to provide adequate security had led businesses to increasingly engage the services of private security firms.
“Over 80 per cent of companies report paying for some form of security service,” it said.
“More than two-thirds employ private security staff, adding another layer of costs, with security expenses and losses due to crime on average amounting to about 10 per cent of annual business costs.”