One of the most important things to protect your business against is the classic B&E. Businesses are always good candidates for thieves to commit a break and enter crime because they usually have:
- Things of value
- No one around at night
I’ve had a few break-ins occur and I know several other businesses who have had trouble with break-ins and theft. Thanks to these “experiences” I have a number of rules and philosophies about how I handle security. Here are some things you can do to hard target your business:
Layer Your Security
Having an alarm is a no-brainer, but a lot of thieves don’t really care if there is one or not. They know that it will take a certain amount of time for the cops to arrive once the alarm goes off, and it’s all the time they need. You have to slow them down and this means creating layers.
Anything you can do to slow down the crooks is good, especially AFTER the alarm goes off. Here are some ways to slow them down:
- If there are two doorways to go through, lock and alarm the outside door, but also lock the inside door. Now they have to tackle that inside door which costs them time while the alarm is going off. Most commercial properties should have steel doors already. If not, replace any wooden doors with steel ones.
- Lock down computers and expensive office equipment with computer cables. Desks that have a cable pass-through are great for this. Computer cables are attached using an extremely strong epoxy glue and good cables are difficult to cut through. Attach one end to the computer case, pass the cable through the desk and attach the other end to your monitor. You can attach printers directly to the desk they sit on.
- Keep your tools or equipment in a workshop and keep it locked.
- Padlocks are spring loaded and easily pop open with a single hammer blow where the shackle meets the body. This doesn’t even damage the lock. They’re only secure if you use a padlock with a shielded shackle or you use them with a hasp that has a shielded cover.
- Install both a deadbolt and doorhandle lock on your outside doors. Two locks are better than one.
- Install bars or security blinds that can be rolled open during the day on windows.
- Install concrete filled steel posts in front of doors so they can’t drive through your door. Thieves love to steal vehicles and use them to ram through doors. An easy way to fortify large doors is to buy a concrete road barrier. They weigh up to 2000 pounds, they’re cheap, and you can always get them moved out of the way if necessary.
Don’t Give Thieves The Tools They Need
Remove anything that’s lying around that someone can thow through a window or use to smash their way in to your place. And don’t leave vehicles parked in an unsecured place; thieves will use them to mow down fences and ram through doors.
Know that anything outside that’s not nailed down might be stolen. And I mean anything. I had about 20 feet of copper plumbing pipe loosely attached to a wall outside that wasn’t hooked up to anything. Someone came by one weekend and stole it. They probably just took it to a scrapyard to get a couple bucks for it. I wasn’t too concerned about the theft, but anything that’s lying around that can be stolen attracts the wrong kind of attention.
What To Do After A Break-in
There’s always a lot of things to do after a break-in. You have to report the crime to the police, replace essential equipment that was stolen and talk to your insurer (depending on the value of what was stolen and the cost of your deductible). You also have to repair the point of entry, whether it’s a door or window that was broken.
Do a complete security assessment after a break-in. A lot of times, companies will fortify the point of entry and that’s all they do. The next time, the thieves pick another weak point and break in through a different entry. Secure all your points of entry and add layers to all your points of entry.
The Thing About Thieves
They’re very creative and very bold when it comes to crime. If they put all that energy into a legitimate career or business venture, a lot of them would probably be very successful people.
Be thorough in your security assessment. Add layers and remove the tools and the opportunities that can be taken advantage of by would-be thieves.
If you have any experiences or security tips, share them in the comments.
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