What Makes Your Business a Target For Crime?

Some business premises are inevitably going to be far more likely to attract the attention of potential thieves than others. To take extreme examples, if you’re running a shop offering cash for gold and jewellery, that’s going to be a lot more tempting for a criminal than a pizza delivery store carrying out most of its transactions online (unless they really like pizza).

Of course, just because your business is more likely to be a target for crime than others, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing it – it just means that you might have to take more care than others. This article will examine some of the things most likely to make your business of interest to criminals – and what you can do to minimise the risk.

Tempting targets for thieves and criminals

Holding expensive stock

Things that are worth nicking – i.e. things that are easy to grab, easy to transport and easy to sell on – are inevitably going to be of interest to those who don’t mind stealing other people’s stuff. We mentioned gold and jewellery earlier, but there are plenty of other things that fall into that category, from alcohol and tobacco to electronics and pharmaceuticals. 

Dealing in cash

We may be moving towards a cashless society, but we’re not there yet. If you’re regularly handling large quantities of cash – and it’s probably not going to be hard for someone to establish if that’s the case – you’re sure to catch the attention of criminals looking for a quick and unearned payday.

Using expensive technology

You may not be dealing in expensive stock or handling cash, but you could be using lots of modern technology to carry out your business. Computer equipment is always going to be of interest and much of it is likely to be relatively easy to dispose of once it’s been taken.

Working late hours

Businesses operating late at night are going to be more vulnerable than others, as there are likely to be fewer staff on site and fewer people around to witness any crime. And if it’s dark as well, that makes identifying miscreants even harder.

Operating in a quiet area

Premises situated in quiet areas with few people around – especially at night – are particularly tempting, because thieves are likely to have more time to act before being discovered. 

Ways to protect your business

CCTV

We’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again: just the presence of CCTV cameras will deter many thieves from chancing their arm, especially opportunistic ones who haven’t done any planning beforehand.

Intruder alarms

Modern security systems offer a variety of ways of detecting unwanted visitors and raising alarms. And in the same way that CCTV deters by its mere presence, so many potential thieves are likely to scarper the moment an alarm goes off.

Security system monitoring

You can back up your CCTV and intruder alarms with 24/7 security system monitoring. After all, more experienced criminals may well have taken their presence into account – having your systems monitored remotely means that the minute a problem is detected, someone is going to be alerting the authorities.

Staff training

There are any number of ways appropriate staff training can help protect your premises. You can make sure they follow basic good practice, such as closing windows, locking doors, removing valuables from the site where possible and keeping an eye on suspicious visitors. It’s also worth making sure they know what to do if there is a serious threat while they’re at work. It’s always better to hand over cash and valuables than to put your team at risk.

For all your security needs, talk to the team at Scutum London. With years of experience helping to protect businesses in and around London, Surrey and the South East of England, our team can help identify potential risks at your premises, and supply and install security systems that will deal with your particular threat.

Call us now to find out more or to book a free site visit with one of our professional security experts.