The Federation of Small Businesses' Crimes Against Business conference drew together businessmen and top police officers in Winchester on Wednesday to discuss an area of crime which it is claimed is often hidden from view.

Criminal activity against business is estimated to cost Hampshire's economy up to £55m each year.

The key organiser of the conference was Tim Colman, FSB officer in charge of procurement for Hampshire.

He said: 'One of the reasons businesses don't report crimes that much is it can have a dramatic effect on insurance costs.

'Of course, insurance companies are businesses too, and they assess on risk. But we encourage our members with the slogan, Every Crime, Every Time. Although it hurts, we say reporting the issues is essential.'

Another of the major complaints to emerge from the conference was the fact the police do not compile any statistics on crimes against businesses.

Burglary, for instance, can be classed as Burglary: Domestic or Burglary: Other, with nothing to indicate whether firms have been explicitly targeted.

Mr Colman added: 'The expression one often hears is victimless crime. But it is not. We are all victims.'

One man who knows all about being targeted by thieves is Brian Basford, managing director of high-tech circuit-maker Technograph Microcircuits, of Walton Road, Drayton.

Although the company's turnover of upwards of £4m means it is larger than the businesses surveyed, it is far from immune from petty criminals.

In the last couple of years, it has been hit time and again by raiders and fraudsters, but Mr Basford said the police had difficulty finding the time and resources to investigate.

He said: 'We've had walk-in thefts, where people come in, grab something that looks valuable from the desk and run out. It's very brazen. I actually had someone walk into my office while I was in the loo, nab my wallet, and go.'

Other incidents include 'almost weekly' thefts from Technograph and surrounding businesses, an individual changing the official address of the company to a lock-up garage in Wembley, and the theft of a £30,000-worth delivery of aircraft microchips about three weeks ago.

'Although the crimes don't impact us so much financially, it's just the time it takes. And one of the things I think they (the police] feel is these types of crimes don't have high priority – priority crimes are those against the person.'

He and other traders have come up with a 'neighbourhood watch' e-mail alert with other local firms.

On a smaller scale, but no less annoying, are attacks by vandals. Mike Rowsell, owner of Seymours Fireplaces, Southsea, has had a door and window smashed, which he thinks will cost £800 to £900 to fix.

He said: 'Am I annoyed? You come downstairs and see a smashed window and it's a bit soul-destroying.

'The other thing is CCTV; the cameras we've got here never seem to be able to pick things up, and we've been waiting about seven years for one at the junction of Waverley Road.

'You're given a crime number and, generally speaking, it's left to you to find anything else about it, and phone them back.'

Addressing the conference last week was Hampshire Constabulary Chief Superintendent Matthew Greening.

He told BusinessWeek: 'We do care about crime against businesses, and we want to help. We don't and shouldn't treat every crime the same, but we can make better decisions about priorities and how to respond to and prevent crimes if we know what is going on.

'I encourage all businesses to report the crimes they suffer and also be realistic about what the police can do. Businesses should get to know their local Neighbourhood Police Teams so firms, small and large, can also be a part of the solution to preventing and detecting crime.'