Protect your business against burglars

If your business premises are standing empty or you have fewer employees at work, protecting your property and equipment from burglaries and damage is a pressing concern. The risk isn’t only to your site, it can also affect your ability to continue operating and the morale of your team. 

 

Of course, you can’t completely eliminate the risks, but you can take steps to protect your assets and minimise damage. 

 

We recommend a site security audit, to properly review any vulnerabilities and recommend suitable options. Here are some steps you can consider straight away. 

 

Plenty of lighting on your site will protect your business during dark winter days as this will act as a deterrent for many burglars. 

 

Lighting areas where burglars could access your building that aren’t in plain view is important. Your lights will need to operate in all weather conditions, so they should be robust, reliable and easy to maintain. Ideally, lights should have protection or bulb cages to prevent them from being broken by a burglar. 

 

A visible and reliable alarm system is one of the best ways to protect your business from theft, vandalism, and burglary. 

 

Alarms are an effective deterrent and, of course, it will also provide audible alarms internally and externally and alert you to any intruders. Your system can also contact you via text message, email or pre-recorded voice message when your alarm is triggered. 

 

You also have the option of monitored alarms connected to an alarm receiving centre (ARC). If your alarm is activated, the ARC will immediately notify your site and keyholders. It’s also possible for the ARC to contact the police when notification of an intruder is confirmed. 

 

A solid-core or reinforced steel door is a good first step and deadbolt locks and heavy-duty strike plates will certainly slow down a burglar. Hinges should be on the inside so that it is much more difficult for potential burglars to remove them. 

 

There are also affordable access control systems that will allow you to manage who can enter to your building and where they can go. This will not only protect your business, but also anyone working at your site. This can help to reduce the risk of opportunist theft and malicious damage. During the coronavirus pandemic, it’s also a useful way to manage and monitor employees and visitors to your site. 

 

You won’t need to issue keys to your employees, so forgetting to lock doors and lost keys won’t be problems anymore. If you use locks and keys it’s important to check who holds the keys and, if any aren’t accounted for, your locks should be changed. 

 

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras provide video surveillance and the option of recording any incidents at your site. They are another good deterrent for burgulars or other criminals looking for opportunities outside your normal operating times or when your business premises are empty. 

 

You will need to be sensitive to legal and privacy restrictions and any recorded material, along with sensitive data about your staff, customers or suppliers, should ideally be stored away from your site. You should also make sure that employees are aware of the cameras and that they know their privacy will be respected. 

 

Many thefts are opportunistic, but you can reduce risks by keeping valuable equipment out of site when it isn’t in use. This could include, for example, locking laptops in desk drawers overnight, providing lockers for your employees to keep their belongings safe, and installing blinds, security shutters or gates.