Bank holiday breaks are a time when people take extended leave from work and businesses are closed for at least the long weekend.
Providing a happy hunting ground for those with criminal intent.
When no one’s about, it’s the perfect time to carry out a robbery, with potentially rich pickings up for grabs, which is why business owners need to be on their guard, to ensure they don’t come back to any nasty surprises.
Bank holidays, traditionally, are a time for taking it easy. It’s also traditionally a time when crime rates go up at empty or unsupervised commercial premises.
It’s not just offices and factories that are vulnerable. Town and city centre shops can also be at risk during these periods, especially with nearby pubs and clubs being more heavily frequented, resulting in spikes in criminal behaviour and damage.
So here are a few quick tips to make sure your premises are properly secured during bank holiday weekends:
1. Is everything properly locked?
For shops, offices, warehouses, industrial units and public buildings (like schools), the same guidelines apply to deter opportunistic thieves. Ensure all windows, doors, gates, shutters and rear entrance points are fully locked. Lower blinds to keep visible equipment out of sight. Make sure there are no gaps in external fencing, which would make an easy entry point.
2. Are your security systems fully operational?
Check that all the security measures that are in place are active and functioning. This will include intruder alarms, sensors, CCTV systems, smoke detectors, access control solutions etc. Are all battery-powered systems running correctly?
3. Call-out arrangements
On the basis that you have an alarm system in place, if an alert triggers at any time of the day or night, who will respond? Ideally, this will be best handled by an alarm monitoring centre. If it is down to a keyholder, do they know what action to take in the event of a call out?
4. Being pro-active
It makes no difference whether you are in a high crime area or have been running your premises for years and never had a break-in - being proactive can make all the difference. Don’t leave anything to chance. Commercial property security in this day and age should be a big priority – you don’t want to become a sitting target.
Taking simple but effective steps can make a big impact in protecting your premises from burglars, vandals or suspicious activity. It will certainly help ensure you return from your break with everything in place - just as you left it.
Justice Fire & Security have been installing high quality, cost effective security and fire safety solutions for commercial properties throughout Birmingham and the wider West Midlands area for the past four decades. If you are unsure about your existing security and fire safety arrangements within your business premises, call our main switchboard on 0845 468 9077. In the first instance, we can arrange a free site survey to advise on the best course of action.
