Holiday security should be one of your top concerns if you own a business. The holidays are a time when more people are out and about. The increased foot traffic and added distractions that come with the festive season can mean an increase in retail crime.

Nobody wants to believe that their employees would steal from them but it’s a common problem at many bars and restaurants. In fact, the National Restaurant Association says that 75 percent of inventory shortages are due to employee theft.

In a recent blog, we discussed the difference between breaking & entering, robbery and theft. While knowing these terms isn’t going to automatically help enhance your organization’s security solution, it can help you to gain a better idea of the security technology you need to better protect your business.

In 2020, there were approximately 90,900 incidents of shoplifting under $5,000. While this is a substantial decrease from previous years, it is still an incredibly high number. Not to mention, the decrease is believed to be because many stores were closed and so much time was spent at home through the pandemic.

According to the National Fire Protection Association of Canada nearly 115,000 of the 500,000 fires between 2015 and 2019 occurred in non-residential buildings. 

There are many steps you can take to prevent fire, such as installing a robust verified fire alarm, but first it’s important to know why the fires start. To help you keep your business or organization safe from fire, let’s look at the five most common causes of workplace fire.

This past July, a Downtown Eastside church in Vancouver, British Columbia burned down. The fire also took down the adjacent convenience store and came close to burning down a nearby hotel. 

There are many different crimes committed against businesses on a regular and on-going basis, which make a robust security solution so critical. Three of the most common crimes are robbery, burglary and theft.  

Every year, close to 100,000 new businesses open in Canada each year. Many of these business owners are new to entrepreneurship, which means there’s a lot to think about and learn. One area that is often forgotten or set aside as a concern for a later date is security.

If you’re a business owner in Lethbridge, Alberta, it may be time to take a hard look at your security strategy.

If you own a car rental or automotive dealership, are you doing enough to ensure that your business (and its assets) are properly secured from crimes such as theft and vandalism? 

Stats Canada recently released their Crime Severity Index (CSI) report for 2021, which has shown that businesses in Western Canada need to do more to improve their security measures.  

When looking for a security system for your small business there are many to choose from. 

While you may be drawn towards a traditional CCTV surveillance system, this is not the right choice. To ensure your business is safe you should be looking at verified security options. 

This is the best option for any small business. Here’s why …

Most cities and towns, even smaller ones, have at least one Business Improvement Association (BIA). A BIA is a group of commercial property owners and renters who partner with their local municipality to help create a thriving and safe business area for customers and business people.

Cleaning up graffiti, repairing damaged property, replacing assets and inventory… when a criminal targets your business it can add up quickly. But that isn’t the only cost of crime. 

When there’s repeated criminal activity in your local community, it can have an indirect effect on your business. In this blog, we take a look at some of the indirect costs of crime on your business in Western Canada and why that means you need to invest in a robust security solution.

In 2019, the western provinces had over 47,000 cars stolen, with the majority of thefts occurring in BC and Alberta.

British Columbia: 13,352

Alberta: 23,535

Saskatchewan: 5,284

Manitoba: 5,546

While Manitoba and Saskatchewan seem much lower in comparison to the other provinces, their low populations put them in second and third place for thefts per 10,000 people.

Door-to-door scams can feel like something of the past, especially now that so much business is being done electronically. In recent years, many scammers have transitioned to the faceless route of scamming people over phone, via email or through other online channels.

As a property manager, you need to be especially vigilant when it comes to multi-tenant buildings. This is because people are often free to enter and roam the building without concern.

A physical security audit is a comprehensive assessment of your organization’s building(s). It measures your businesses susceptibility to crime against a list of industry best practices, regulations and requirements.

Between 2014 and 2018, nearly 29 million doses of prescription drugs were lost or stolen according to a study in the Journal of Drug Issues. Of this, 7.7 million doses were opioids. Of these missing doses, almost 40% were unexplained losses from community pharmacies. 

Even if you have had a security audit in the past, the changing technological and criminal environment makes regular security audits a necessity. If you haven’t had one in the last 2 years, you’re probably overdue.