Research shows that a break-in occurs every 26 seconds in the United States. Many are home burglaries, but many also occur at commercial properties and small businesses.
That’s why it’s only natural to be concerned about theft if you run a business. But if you take the proper preventative measures, you can do a lot to protect your business against theft and ease your worry.
With that in mind, here are six strategies you can deploy to keep your business property safer at every time of the day.
Know Your Threats
It’s good to begin by doing a threat assessment of your property. Think about your entries and exits, the things someone would take from your business, and whether you have any lingering security vulnerabilities that could be exploited.
When you have a clear picture of how a theft may occur and what the perpetrator may look for in your building, you can start building a security plan to prevent it from happening.
Also, don’t neglect your employees. 75% of employees admit to stealing from their employers at least once. So even though the external risk may be high for you, it’s also important to keep a watchful eye on your workers.
Purchase Commercial Property Insurance
If you’re looking for a single action that you can take to prevent the impact of theft on your business, then purchasing reliable property protection insurance could be your best bet.
With a good insurance plan, you’ll have coverage for:
- Furniture and equipment (including computers)
- Fencing, landscaping, and exterior signage
- Inventory
- Others’ property (such as employee laptops and smartphones)
- Most other types of property that you may have in your business
On top of that, many commercial property insurance plans will also give you protection for things like fire and flood damage. So you’ll get more for your money than just a safeguard against burglarizing.
The amount that you pay for commercial property insurance will vary based on factors like:
- The location of your building
- The construction of your building (i.e., is it made out of fireproof material?)
- How many people occupy your building on average
- Whether you have other features that help to make your building more secure or resistant to various types of damage
The good news is that you can often customize a property insurance plan to meet your specific goals and requirements. So it shouldn’t be hard to find a plan that fits your needs.
Use an Alarm System (And Let People Know You Have it)
Adding an alarm system to your business is another excellent step you can take to reduce your risk of theft. If someone breaks into your business and an alarm starts blaring at them after they do, they’re likelier to run away than to continue with the theft.
After you’ve added an alarm system to your building, make sure to let people know you have it. A potential burglar will often visit the property before carrying out the crime. If they visit yours and see that you have an active alarm system, then they may look for another target altogether.
Start Tracking Your Keys
Your building could be as difficult as possible for someone to break into, and it wouldn’t matter if they were able to get a copy of your keys. That’s why keeping track of every copy of your master keys is important by making employees check them out whenever they’re in use.
The goal isn’t to accuse your employees of giving their keys to burglars. But things happen, keys get lost, or the person may forget to return them. If you have a record that tells you exactly who has the missing set of keys, it’ll be much easier to recover them before they can fall into the hands of a would-be burglar.
Consider CCTV Cameras
It may also make sense to add CCTV cameras to your property. These can be an excellent deterrent, making enterprising criminals think twice about attempting to breach your property.
The only thing about CCTV cameras is that your employees may feel uncomfortable with them. So consider getting their input before you make a unilateral decision about where you’re going to place them on your property.
Reevaluate Your Outdoor Landscaping
When trying to protect your business against theft, you want to make it as difficult as possible for someone to break into your building. One underrated way of doing that is by improving your outdoor landscaping.
For example, you might have lots of large bushes or trees that make easy hiding spots for a criminal. Or maybe you have large ledges that are easy for someone to climb and could be a way for them to get into your secured inner building.
Finding and resolving these types of landscaping features could significantly reduce your risk of burglary.