How to Prevent Burglary

Burglary means a break-in by a criminal into a building, commercial premises, an office, or a showroom outside normal business hours. The aftermath of burglary often requires repairs to damaged property, temporarily closing the business for investigation and repairs, and replacing stolen assets. While you can’t completely eliminate the risk of theft occurring at your business, you can take steps to reduce the risk, protect your assets, and minimize damage if an incident does occur. Here are some measures businesses can take as precautions to prevent burglary.

Understanding Commercial Burglaries

Commercial burglary means an act or intent of entering some type of commercial property that may include a store, office, or similar structure that usually involves the theft of some type. Depending on the area that you live in or the neighborhood where your commercial estate operates, you can be a victim of different types of burglaries. Commercial burglars usually take advantage of breaches in the security systems to enter the premises and steal valuable goods. Most of the time, the burglars force the locks on the doors and windows to ease their entry.

Types of Burglary

Here are some types of burglaries that you should know:

1. Opportunistic Burglary

Opportunistic burglary is the most common type of burglary and is undertaken by those who have no plan but can make entry and take merchandise or money. They will make use of a deserted area or vulnerability in security, such as a door left unlocked or a window left open.

2. Smash & Grab Burglaries

Smash and grab burglaries are the most destructive to small businesses and can cause expensive damages. They will often break down doors or smash through windows, which can cost a significant amount of money to repair.

3. Sophisticated Burglary

Sophisticated burglary is a complex operation that involves an intricate plan to steal items, usually of exceptionally high value. These burglars allow themselves enough time to sort through the items and haul them away before authorities arrive on the scene. This is the least common burglary of the three.

8 Burglary Prevention Tips That Every Business Should Know

Here are tips to help you prevent a burglary in your business:

1. Install an Alarm System

One of the effective ways to protect your business from theft, property damage, and burglary is to install an alarm system. The presence of an alarm system is often enough to deter any would-be burglars, and it can help you keep an eye on both external and internal threats.

Many alarm systems can be customized, and security companies usually offer numerous low-cost options. Just make sure your system can be controlled and monitored remotely on your smartphone, tablet, or PC.

2. Install A Surveillance System

The installation of a surveillance system can be a very effective burglar deterrent. Commercial security cameras allow you to monitor your premises at any time. Surveillance cameras provide a record of suspicious or criminal activity and help identify criminal activity and help identify criminals. CCTV is an effective deterrent that can discourage would-be thieves and protect your business after hours when no one is physically present.

3. Use Access Control

Control access to your property with fobs or cards so you can restrict people’s movement and have a record of who’s on the premises at any given time with access control systems. Access control can quickly and reliably scale to meet visitor management issues. Integrate a custom system that makes it convenient to grant, revoke, and monitor access.

4. Keep Track of Keys

This may seem obvious, but in the day-to-day crush of business operations, it may not always be top of mind. Be sure to keep close track of keys that access not only your place of business itself, but also any safes, lockboxes, drawers, interior doors, and others. Maintain a log listing who each key is assigned to.

Allow only authorized personnel to use keys, and be sure they are always accounted for. If any employee leaves, especially if it’s under less-than-ideal circumstances, recover all their assigned keys and consider re-keying important locks in case keys may have been duplicated.

5. Install Bright Lights

Most business burglaries occur after hours when the sun goes down. You can minimize your risk by installing bright lights around the perimeter of the building. If you don’t want to pay the expense of keeping these lights on all the time, try motion lights instead. These lights illuminate as soon as any movement is detected.

The brightness of lights suddenly turning on is a surefire way to scare off most criminals. When lights turn on, it makes the burglar think someone is there and they’ve been caught. Place these lights on each corner and at the back and front of your location to keep every entry point safe.

6. Evaluate Landscaping & Other Outdoor Features

Burglars are often attracted to properties with unkempt landscaping because they offer places to hide. Eliminate these areas by keeping bushes and trees trimmed, especially near doors and windows.

7. Reinforce Doors & Windows with Gates & Bars

A strong and well-designed lock and doors and windows can be a major deterrent to burglars. Anti-pick locks usually act as a good prevention method as they are difficult to pick. Bars and cages can also be installed on windows and doors to prevent entry.

Bars and cages made from metal or polycarbonate sheets are highly resistant to cutting and brute force. Unlike other security systems like alarms and security cameras, these can physically deter, delay, or prevent break-ins.

8. Perform Background Checks

While it might sound odd, sometimes employees who commit fraud in the workplace are those who are most trusted by others. This is why it’s important to perform background checks on newly hired employees and contractors, particularly if they’ll be handling payments or sensitive financial information about customers and your business. A background check not only can help you make a hiring decision, but it will also serve as a preventive measure against employee theft.

Don’t Neglect Your Business’ Network Security Either

Most businesses understand the importance of security to protect their property from physical threats, but many still underestimate the value of network security, and the importance of protecting business data from cyber threats.

Find out how Interwest Communications can improve your business’ network security in addition to physical security with alarm systems, video surveillance, and access control.

Contact us to learn more information.