Nowadays, there’s growing concern around cybersecurity, and the threats that businesses and organisations of all sizes expose themselves to if they don’t protect themselves effectively. With cyber criminals becoming more sophisticated, and the potential impact becoming greater and greater as businesses rely more on data, it’s right that this should be in focus. That being said, it’s still vital that businesses be mindful of their physical security, and the ever-present threats that come from the more “traditional” criminal.
With that in mind, we thought we’d take a look at some of the most common physical security threats to business in 2019 – and how to combat against them.
Stats are taken from the 2017 Commercial Victimisation Survey (CVS).
Theft
Theft is one of the most common crimes businesses across all sectors experience. Perhaps not surprisingly, in wholesale and retail, it accounted for 63% of crimes against that sector. It is also common in manufacturing, with 296 thefts per 1000 premises in 2017. Employee theft alone costs businesses in the UK more than £190 million every year. Whether by customers, visitors or employees, theft is a costly threat that can easily be prevented with the right measures in place. Having an effective CCTV system in place can act as both a deterrent against theft and a means of monitoring activity on-site, watching for loiterers and suspicious activity – which can also be achieved automatically with sophisticated video analytics. From the employee perspective, a big one is obviously access control – if you integrate your access control with a wider system, you’ll be able to see who was in what room and when, and should there be an incident it’ll make it much easier to identify the culprit. You’ll also want an intruder alarm system installed, preferably monitored, so that if an intruder does make it on to your premises, you and the police are informed in a timely manner.
Vandalism
Even more common than theft is vandalism. In 2017, across all sectors examined in the CVS, there were on average 390 cases of vandalism per 1,000 businesses. Although it may not seem as direct a threat to security as theft – incidents of vandalism could still be costly to your business, particularly if valuable machinery or assets are damaged. When it comes to vandalism – it’s really more about prevention than detection – as there’s little that can be done after a vandal has made their way onto your premises. Installing the right security fencing and automatic gate solution can help you effectively keep vandals off your premises. And again, if they do manage to get onto your property, a good CCTV system can help catch the culprits in the act.
Vehicle theft
Vehicle-related theft is another big contributor to crime against businesses – including theft from and theft of vehicles – affecting 63 out of every 1,000 businesses in 2017. Company vehicles could be holding valuable stock, tools, parts or even cash, not to mention the value of the vehicle itself if that is stolen. Your employees, visitors and customers should also feel safe keeping their vehicle on your premises. Preventing vehicle theft is again down to effective gates and barriers – stopping intruders getting onto your premises, and if they do manage to get in, at least prevent them leaving with a vehicle. You could again use your CCTV system and video analytics coupled with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to track a vehicle which is being driven suspiciously, or that is perhaps somewhere unexpected or where it shouldn’t be. ANPR can help you quickly identify who the vehicle belongs to, or if it’s a company vehicle who it’s driven by, which could help you prevent or resolve the situation relatively quickly.
Give your business the best possible chance to detect and prevent some of the most common crimes. Century Secure Group UK Ltd have been supporting organisations of all sizes across a variety of sectors with integrated security solutions, ongoing maintenance and support, and remote monitoring. If you would like to find out more about how we could support you, get in touch.
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