Improving Security by Going Beyond an Alarm System
An alarm system can be a very effective way to help reduce crime and protect your property. However, it isn’t the only form of security that you need. Many business owners mistakenly believe that installing only one type of security is enough to protect their properties.
Unfortunately, this isn’t true.
One form of security cannot possibly provide your business with the level of protection that it needs. In addition, it is important to note that, these days, many crimes are “smash and grab robberies.” In these situations, criminals break through doors and windows, steal what they can and leave the scene within minutes. In some cases, the entire crime is over in just a few seconds.
The speed of these robberies means that alarm systems become less effective. There is simply no time for anyone to respond to a crime (or an alarm) when the criminal is gone from the scene just minutes later. Even if your alarm is set up so that the authorities are contacted immediately, they won’t be able to respond and get to the scene of the crime quickly enough to catch the criminals in the act. Criminals know this, and that is a major reason why smash and grab robberies are becoming more and more common.
Criminals also understand that video surveillance equipment can be used to identify them and place them at the scene of a crime. For this reason, they often hide their faces with scarves, hoods or masks, making it very difficult to capture any useful evidence on camera.
Protecting your Property with Physical Security
As you can see, smash and grab robbers are not deterred by alarm systems or security cameras. They aren’t at your property long enough for these security methods to catch them in the act. Therefore, it’s crucial that you take action to make smash and grab robberies more difficult to commit.
In order to do this, you’ll need to install physical security at your property. Security gates, for example, are an excellent way to reduce smash and grab robberies. They put a physical barrier between your property and a criminal. In most smash and grab robberies, criminals use items such as bricks, rocks, crowbars and baseball bats to gain access to a property. These crimes typically aren’t very sophisticated. Security gates prevent easy access with these tools and deter criminals from even considering your property to be a target.
Criminals don’t want to be on the scene for a long time. The longer they spend trying to circumvent your security, the greater likelihood of them being caught in the act. For this reason, they often completely ignore properties that have security gates installed. It just isn’t worth it to them.
In this way, physical security gates act as a strong visual deterrent.
We have some more helpful tips to improving the security of your business. Download our helpful guide to Improving Your Security Mindset.
