Control Your Business’s Security
To reduce liability concerns, prevent the loss of data, equipment, work product, and to promote the safety and security of your employees and customers, you need to have control over your business’s physical security. So many commercial property owners wait until a crime occurs to start thinking about security. Let’s start from a position of power and stop crime before it starts and before your and your employee’s livelihood is put in jeopardy. Want a customized security plan for your business? Call now.
Business Burglary Prevention Tips
- Control Your Keys – Consider a high security key system. These systems use patented key systems that provide truly restricted key duplication. High security keys can only be duplicated by presenting the authorized users (usually the business owners’s) code card. Without this card and proper identification, the keys can not be physically duplicated by anyone. This means that as long as you get the key back from that employee who quit, or the housekeeping staff you let go, there is no way a key you don’t know about is out there. Don’t be fooled by keys stamped “Do Not Duplicate”, there is no legal recourse for the unauthorized duplication of these keys. Most big-box hardware stores will copy these with no questions asked.
- Restrict Access Points – Install devices and create procedures to prevent unauthorized entry onto the premises. Panic bars and exit devices are great ways to let people out in case of an emergency, even better yet, they lock automatically behind someone when they exit, restricting access through authorized doors only.
- Barricade Your Business – Use quality deadbolt locks on all doors. A properly installed high-security deadbolt with a reinforced door frame can resist or prevent most kick-in or forced attacks. Keep back doors and side doors locked, even when your business is open. A lot of theft occurs while businesses are open right under the nose of owners and employees. If you are concerned about kick-in or high-powered door ramming attacks, we have simple products that are highly effective for thwarting these types of crimes.
- Window Shopping – Retail stores are often light and bright with huge plate glass windows. We’ve all seen riots on the worldwide news where something as simple as a shoe or even a fist takes down a huge glass window. Reinforce your windows with security films. Security film won’t prevent the glass from being damaged, but it can greatly increase the amount of time and force necessary to gain access to your store. There are hurricane-proof and even bomb-proof window films available on the market today. These are used by many large retailers, military installations, and government buildings, but are surprisingly affordable for small businesses and commercial property owners alike and could save your business many thousands of dollars of repairs.
- Check Them In – Create and follow good check-in and check-out procedures for visitors and contractors. These strategies have already been implemented at most schools in our area and can be a great way to control the flow of people at your business or commercial property. Creating specific visitor parking areas and a staffed single visitor entrance is a proven effective crime deterrent. Consider escorting visitors or contractors to their destination and keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t travel to unauthorized areas. Andrew, the owner of “A” Locksmith, a former police officer and Director of Security for a large K-12 private school can help design and implement school-safety inspired security at your business, warehouse, or campus.
- Lock It Up – Keep expensive or high-target merchandise under lock and key. If you sell jewelry, store cash, or other high-value items create procedures to ensure that it is stored in UL rated fire or burglary safe or vault when the store is closed. Safes should be properly installed to prevent someone carrying off with them. We carry a large selection of safes and can special order any vault door or specialty safe for your business including cash handling safes and document safes.
- Control Access – Control vehicular and pedestrian access with fencing and gates around your building and parking areas. Failing to control access around certain structures or machinery can create serious liability concerns. Unfenced pool areas, for example, have resulted in death and serious injury and these cases present huge financial liabilities for both commercial and private property owners. Do what you can to prevent trespassers from entering and getting injured on your property.
- Keep Your Cards Close – Closely monitor your bank and credit card transactions and report suspicious charges immediately. Business credit cards often have higher limits and are monitored less frequently by card owners. Thieves know this and love to get their hands on corporate credit cards and bank accounts. Quickly resolving credit card disputes and spotting unauthorized bank transactions offers your best chance of success.
- Lighten Up – Install motion-sensing lights and keep your parking and building lot well-lit at night. Thieves, vandals, and criminals like to work in the dark, especially in dark parking lots. Simply installing lights might not be enough. Take a few moments to make sure the bulbs are out of reach and difficult to tamper with or remove. Create a property-management style inspection regimen and walk your property at night to test your lighting system’s operation or to see where more lights should be added or if bulbs are burnt out.
- Monitor Your Space – Install security cameras in plain view. Pointing cameras at the cash register, exterior doors, parking lot, display cases, and inventory rooms are good places to start. Most people don’t want to commit a crime on camera and if they do, security footage is a great tool for law enforcement to find the culprit. Just having cameras has been proven to reduce employee theft and unexplained inventory loss.
Call us today and be worry-free about your business’s security by tonight.