Night-time store safety is a priority. It is easier for a criminal to get in, get out and get away when your store is empty. Robberies have three immediate effects on a store:
- Your insurance premiums go up
- Your passing trade goes down
- Your staff can become fearful of a daytime repetition and, therefore, less productive
Here are 5 tips that will keep your property safer.
1) Have a System in Place to Minimize the Likelihood of a Robbery
Seek your insurance broker’s advice and then make sure your employees know what to do, how to do it, and do it properly. In summary, base your system on these 7 elements: ‘Know – Train – Document – Monitor – Record – Act – Review’. Your insurance broker will go into the detail that is appropriate for your line of business, your building type and your store’s location.
2) Have Strong Doors and Windows
The more resistant your doors and windows are, the less likely it is that someone will be able to break in. You want to encourage customers to come into your store, so your doors may be mainly glass. Most forced entries are via doors, windows or roofs. Metal or wooden doors are strong, but do not encourage passers-by to walk in. Reinforced, high tensile glass or shatter-resistant film on regular glass may solve the problem of making illegal access easy.
3) Have Suitable Locks
Deadlocks with more than 7 pins are very difficult to pick, pry or otherwise disable. Have, at least, one dual-key lock on every access door. Dual-key locks require a key to open the door from inside as well as outside. Anyone ‘casing the joint’ will see the lock system, and will know there is little point in hiding inside the building, stealing your stock and then ‘breaking out’. Even with the best locks, criminals may still smash their way in, as we have all seen on TV news reports, and leave you with an immediate need for storefront door repair.
4) Keep Everything Well Lit and Out of Sight
Nothing deters criminals like good lighting. Have security lights at the front and back of your store. Keep lights on inside your store. LED bulbs keep the cost of electricity to a minimum. Install the lights as high up as possible, so it is difficult for a criminal to disable them. Remove thief-attractive stock from windows and display shelves. The less an opportunist thief can see, the less likely they are to steal it.
5) Have a Good Security System
Have a security system that monitors and records any sort of movement. Link the system to a professional security monitor, or direct to a law enforcement agency. Your insurance broker will advise you.
These tips will help to protect your store, but if it is attacked you should immediately seek help of a storefront door repair professional.
