Not sure if your business is coming or going at the moment? You are not alone—COVID-19 has caused havoc for retailers, manufacturers and services alike. If you’ve had to close temporarily while you figure things out, securing your property should be a priority. Vacant buildings are extremely vulnerable to illegal activity like arson and burglary, especially at night. Ideally, you’d need 24/7 security in place.
If your closure is only temporary, you’d be understandably hesitant to invest money in turning your building into Fort Knox, especially given the current economic uncertainty. But don’t worry, we’re here to provide an overview of short-term security options for your commercial property.
Reducing Opportunity
Criminals like burglars, arsonists and vandals rely on opportunities, so reducing opportunities around your building is a good place to start. Here are five effective (and inexpensive) ways to do that:
Conceal Your Assets
If criminals can’t see your valuable items through a window, they won’t know they are there, and are less likely to make the effort to illegally enter your property. Draw the blinds on all your windows and use cardboard to cover small windows that may not have blinds.
Repair Areas of Weakness
If you have locks or latches on your doors and windows that are broken or even a little worse for wear, now is the time to replace those.
Call in Your Keys
There may be many people besides you who have a key or access FOB for your building. While you might trust your staff absolutely, taking their keys back for the period of closure—and changing the building access code—will be in everybody’s interests. If you do have a burglary, knowing that there are no extra sets of keys out there takes the guess-work out of writing your insurance claim, and you won’t have to ask your employees for details of their movements after the fact. It’s also worth noting that your employees may not wish to return to work once you reopen if they have found new opportunities during the period of closure. Once an employee has left, it can be difficult to get them to return keys and access cards.
Clear Your Building Exterior
Make sure you remove any rubbish and debris as well as overgrown shrubs from the property as a precaution against arson. Keeping the property neat and tidy is also a good way to avoid the appearance of neglect.
Automatic Lighting
Opportunists love nothing more than the cover of darkness. To reduce opportunity, consider installing lights with sensors or a timer switch to stop criminals in their tracks!
Extra Security Measures
The above measures are considered low hanging fruit when it comes to vacant property security. Once you’ve taken care to reduce opportunities where you can, your building is already much more secure. That said, your property is still at increased risk compared to buildings that are occupied, and additional security measures will be necessary. Here are seven internal and external security measures that you can put in place:
Lock Away Your Assets
First, identify your most valuable items. These could be laptops or other technology, as well as any stock and even intellectual property. In an ideal world, you would remove your valuables, but secure off-site storage can be expensive. If you have to leave any assets on the property, make sure you keep them locked in storage cupboards or in a single room that can be made as secure as possible—a room with no windows would be ideal.
Secure Every Door and Window
Every window and door represents a potential vulnerability, so careful consideration should be given to these access points. While you might normally lock your windows from the inside and doors from the outside, a vacant property necessitates extra security layers. Secure windows and doors both from the inside and outside, installing deadbolts at the top and bottom of doors, and sash locks on windows. Burglar bars and security gates are ideal, but you may be reluctant to install expensive and unsightly security features for a temporary closure. When locking up to leave the property, designate one door as your final exit point and secure it with an additional padlock.
Restrict Roof Access
If your building has a roof area or upstairs, it’s important to consider whether it could be used to gain access to your property. If so, take measures to restrict access to these spaces. If you have skylights, check that they are secure.
Burglar Alarms
If you have not installed an alarm system yet, now is a good time to do so. To ensure you get the earliest notification of an intruder, place the detection as near as possible to the perimeter of the property. Remember, your alarm system is only as good as your response. The sound of the alarm may deter some (though not all) intruders, and if you’re not going to show up at three in the morning, or hire a security company who will arrive promptly, word will quickly get around the neighbourhood that your alarm system’s bark is worse than its bite.
Check CCTV Cameras
CCTV is one of those building systems you can easily forget about until something goes wrong. Many business premises have CCTV systems onsite but nobody who monitors their operation or checks that they are effective. When you’re going to leave your building vacant for a while, check that the CCTV works properly and give the camera lenses a clean—nothing more frustrating than perfectly captured CCTV footage with a dark shape in the middle where the perpetrators face should be because you didn’t remove that dead leaf!
24/7 Guarding
If you want to be sure that your building will not be tampered with, you can hire a professional security company to monitor your CCTV and guard the property day and night. Note that the man hours will add up very quickly, and it won’t be long before you’ve spent more on guarding than you would have spent on beefing up your building security from top-to-bottom, with all the mod-cons!
Regular Security Inspections
Finally, it’s worth making regular visits to your property to check that all your security measures are still intact. While you’re at it, check for maintenance issues like leaks or electrical faults that could cost you money down the line.
Interim Live-in Security
Blue Door Property Guardians offers zero-cost guardian security, removing the need for any of the above security measures, saving you thousands of pounds. We secure properties long-term, or for as long as we are needed, so you’re welcome to avail of our services even if you’re not sure how long your building will be closed for. Information for property owners can be found here if you’d like to know more, or give us a call to discuss your needs.