Falling victim to a crime could put your business in a relatively bad position, especially if they gain access to your files, money or expensive equipment. This is why it is important to have the right amount of commercial insurance, though there are other things you can do to protect your company from burglars.
If you run a small business, such as a retail or another that carries products on location, you should be sure that you keep your register out of sight. When closing up for the evening, you will want to have the drawer locked and for extra safety under the counter. This may keep robbers away from your shop in comparison to an easier target where the register could be easier to get to. In addition, don’t keep a large amount of cash in the register at all times, this means you might need to make multiple deposits throughout the day if you have a lot of customers who pay cash. You should also post a sign that lets potential burglars know there is a minimum amount of cash kept in the register, even if it isn’t necessarily true.
It is important that you employ people who are alert and able to follow procedures should someone enter your store with bad intentions. Some essentials include:
- Greeting everyone who enters and offering assistance frequently
- Have signs up that announce the presence of security cameras
- Handling cash behind a counter and not around the store
Rather than having a sales counter in the front of the store window, try keeping it toward the back when designing your commercial space. If burglars can’t see their jackpot, they may be less likely to devise a plan to break in. Additionally, you may want to keep an employee toward the front of the store to get a better look at individuals who come in, and provide employees a separate entrance that is only accessible via code or key. You should also implement that employees walking in and out of your office use a buddy system to avoid falling victim to a crime on their commute home.
While many burglaries take place after dark, not every criminal will care about potentially getting caught. However, you should still keep visibility outside. This means having ample lighting so your employees can see who is outside while also keeping lighting throughout your office or retail space turned up.
Having a good connection with your local police department can also help prevent your company from being selected as a point of burglary, especially if they frequent the area.
When your employees are walking to make a deposit, it is important they keep everything in a lockbox or otherwise hidden from those walking by. Avoid having a deposit schedule that has your employee walking to and from the bank late at night. For even more prevention, you may want to have them make trips to the bank in pairs. This will make individuals less of a target to those waiting for regular deposits.
You should also keep any eye on regular clients who come along often without making a purchase. It isn’t uncommon for “clients” to come in and scope out their surrounding to help determine if your small business is worthy of their burglary attempt. While you won’t be able to ask people to not return without reason, you can have your employees shower them with attention and pay close attention to their facial features. Burglars often try to avoid eye contact so they can not later be recognized or identified.
