To kick off a three-part series focusing on protecting small business premises, security expert Brian Thomson provides his top tips for helping business owners limit the chance of burglaries, enabling them to sleep a little easier at night.
As any business owner knows, burglary prevention is a serious issue. While it’s never pleasant to dwell on the negative aspects of life, it’s also important to be realistic, and according to a 2014 industry report by the British Retail Consortium, there were five robberies per 100 stores in the 2013-14 tax year, with an average cost of £1,280 per incident. With this in mind, this burglary prevention checklist will help secure your business property from thieves.
(1) Don’t be the low-hanging fruit
The most important thing to keep in mind when planning your building’s security is to ensure that you aren’t the low-hanging fruit of the area. Thieves take a big risk when attempting a burglary, and the more secure you make your property, the less likely they are to attempt to enter it. They’ll be much more likely to target less secure premises in the same area as you, so when installing security measures, keep in mind that you should always avoid being the easiest target around. If other properties in your area have very little security measures installed, then you’ll most likely be able to get by with basic security features, while if surrounding buildings are secured with CCTV and alarm systems, you should consider doing the same.
(2) Get a site survey
The easiest way to ensure your security measures are up to scratch is by booking a site survey. In this survey, a qualified security expert will identify any weak points your commercial property may have and advise you on how to improve on them. This advice can be absolutely invaluable, and following it will ensure your peace of mind when you’re away from the office.
(3) Install CCTV
A CCTV system is one of the biggest deterrents you can give burglars. Illuminating the access points of your building and setting cameras on them will be a big disincentive to potential thieves, as it significantly increases their risk of being caught. Conduct a site survey to determine what the best CCTV options are for your business.
(4) Perform background checks
If you run a corporation with a national or international brand to maintain, or if you work with sensitive information or large amounts of money or valuable stock, it’s a good idea to perform a background check on any potential employees before you hire them. Companies like Experian offer a way to do this online, and this should be a precaution that every big firm should make.
Tick off every item of this burglary prevention checklist and you’ll go a long way to ensuring your company’s security.
Following this piece on burglary prevention, in the next instalment of our three-part series Thomson will take a look at some further security measures owners can take to protect their small business premises.
Brian Thomson is team leader at ProtectMyProperty – specialising in the assessment, installation and maintenance of UK property security.
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