Protecting Your Business This Fall
Back-to-school time is here and, whether you have children or not, this time of year feels like a new beginning for many people. Summer is ending and people are going back to “real life.” It’s also a very busy time. Students head back to school, people come back from vacation, and life starts to get more hectic.
This makes it a good time to focus on improving security at your business. Here are some tips that will help you secure your business this fall.
Review What Your Have
One mistake that some business owners are guilty of is installing security tools and then assuming that the situation has been dealt with. Unfortunately, this often isn’t the case. Criminals tend to scout properties and look for weaknesses. Once they find them, they exploit them. To stay ahead of criminals, you’ll need to review your current security situation, find any weaknesses you may have, and secure them before anyone has a chance to take advantage of the situation.
Look at your business like a criminal. If you were trying to break in, how would you do it? For instance, you may have installed security gates on your front door and ground floor windows, but is your side door also protected? Do you have a second floor that could be vulnerable? Remember, criminals have no respect for your property and they’ll do whatever it takes to get inside. Physical security can stop them in their tracks.
Adapt to Changing Situations
September means more than just back-to-school. It also means that the end of summer is approaching. This means many things. One is that there may be more students in the area around your business, depending on where you are located. If your organization operates near a high school or university, you could see increased foot traffic in and around your business. When there are more people around, the likelihood of a crime increases.
In addition, at this time of year, you might start to see more and more people carrying backpacks as they head back to school. As the weather gets cooler, people will start wearing jackets and coats as well. This is important because large bags and bulky coats can be used strategically by shoplifters. It’s much easier to hide stolen assets inside a bag or a coat than it is to carry something out of the store in your hands without being spotted.
Physical security can help deter shoplifters. Locking small yet valuable items (which are commonly targeted by criminals) behind locked gates or inside locked cabinets makes it nearly impossible for someone to slide an item into their pocket or bag without being noticed.
Secure Your Business Before You’re a Victim
Unfortunately, many businesses only invest in security once they’ve already suffered a break-in. Instead of letting your property be attacked, install security tools before you become a victim.
It’s also important to plan for the future, not for a crime that’s just occurred. If your business is broken into (or if a nearby business is broken into) you might be tempted to protect yourself against the exact same crime, in case it happens again. But the next criminal might think differently and strike in another way. That’s why it’s crucial to be proactive, review your situation, and adapt before you are the victim of a crime.
