5 security measures to keep your business safe during the holiday season
With staff away and different workers covering their roles it’s easy to let good security habits slide during the summer season. This may be one reason why burglaries and thefts rise during this period. Here’s a quick guide to 5 simple measures that can save false alarms, lock outs and security breaches during the holidays.
1. Check your stand-in keyholders
If one member of staff is usually responsible for locking or opening up, or ensuring that safes or other high security areas are locked up, you also need to have a named person to stand in when they take time off. A simple check is to identify the person or persons who have keyholder responsibilities when the usual staff member is absent. Ensure that back up keyholders have clear refresher training, particularly before they step in to cover the main keyholder’s absence. The system or procedures may have changed and leaving the handover to the last minute with no time for the substitute to practice lock up procedures with the usual keyholder present can lead to security slip ups.
While you are doing these checks, also make sure you know the names of all staff past and present who have held keys or who know access codes. Sadly many crimes are committed by employees and it’s important to know who could have accessed the premises should an incident occur.
2. Ensure your security service or the police have correct keyholder information
Remember the duties of the keyholder are not just about locking and opening up and ensuring keys or codes are held securely, the keyholder’s phone and contact information should also be registered with the police and / or your security system support in case of alarm — real or false. If your usual staff member is going away, you need to make sure that the police or security system team has the name of the named keyholder. You can also outsource this service to a security company like ourselves. We offer a security monitoring service 24/7 for fire and security alarms which can reduce false alarms, improve emergency response times and reduce your insurance premiums.
It’s worth noting that you can and should register your keyholders with the police scheme even if you don’t have an alarm, in case fire, or another incident happens at your premises while no-one is there.
Register keyholders with the police keyholder scheme here.
Check you have a list of all past keyholders
69,000 incidents of theft in 2014 were crimes committed by employees of the business affected.
3. Keep expensive equipment out of sight
Many summer thefts happen due to open windows or doors to keep the office cool and crimes of opportunity. A short check around the workplace and training session or e-shot to the team to ensure that everyone moves laptops or expensive tools out of site, even if they are simply covered or placed in a draw while they are unattended. After work, staff should lock laptops in their draws and any expensive equipment should be moved and kept away from window. Also just draw the blinds and curtains when you close up for the night. These are simple, inexpensive measures, but they are effective!
4. Tend to the trees
Large or overgrown trees and shrubbery can provide unnecessary cover for intruders and also hamper your CCTV coverage if you have it in place. This tends to happen in the summer when trees and shrubs grow quickly and it’s often a security issue which is overlooked. Booking in regular pruning and strimming for the summer months is a simple fix.
5. Get security lights
It’s easy not to think of this in the summer when nights are lighter, but a simple security light system over main access points, which is activated by movement is a powerful deterrent, particularly to opportunist thieves.
Click here for Devon & Cornwall Police information on keeping your business premises secure.
We can also offer honest and helpful tips tailored to suit your business, and we offer professional, fully accredited security system services. Call us on 01726 65636 or email security@waldons.co.uk for helpful, friendly advice.
