If you want to deter criminals - having a quality, customized, security system is imperative. But it’s not the only thing you can do to make your business or property less appealing to thieves, robbers, and vandals looking for opportunities. It’s equally important to ensure your facility is environmentally unwelcoming to would-be intruders. You want to let criminals know that your business - whether an office, warehouse, retail store, or construction site - is not an easy target, and that their time would be better spent somewhere else.

To figure out how to make your business less appealing to criminals, you have to try to understand how criminals think. Criminals look for vulnerabilities to exploit. When they target a person- they look for someone who doesn’t look prepared, someone who is distracted, or someone who moves without purpose or confidence. They look for easy targets, and they will pass by anyone who appears to have the confidence to give them too much trouble for what they perceive their target to be worth. It’s the same with businesses and properties.

Just like they will look for vulnerable people, they will seek out vulnerable businesses. Here's a list of easy-to-do security checks and extra things you can do to make your facility less attractive to criminals.

Secure Telephone Lines

10% of the time forced entry is made into a facility, telephone lines are cut prior to entry. Determine where your telephone lines enter your building. If you have any exposed telephone lines, take steps to secure them. Have your phone lines monitored so you know if they are cut and have Cellular and/or internet back-up

Make Your Address Visible

Make sure your address can easily be seen from the street, and can be seen after daylight hours. If you have a large facility and entry can be gained from the rear of your building, be sure your address is visible on the rear of your building. Remember, police and fire agencies are dispatched to your address and not to the name of your company. Make it easy for responding authorities to find your building in case of an emergency.

No Trespassing

Place No Trespassing or No Loitering signs around your building. These signs give the police probable cause to question individuals that are on the grounds of your facility.

Check Landscaping

Trees and shrubs can provide an opportunity for unauthorized access to your building, in the form of cover from security cameras or guards, to a way to access roofs and windows. Shrubs in front of any window should not be higher than 42 inches. All trees next to your building should be trimmed to 7 feet. Make any entry to your roof difficult. 25% of all forced entry is NOT through a door or window.

Lighting

Good outside lighting can help to reduce crime, as it makes it difficult for the burglar to find places to hide as they make entry into your building. However, it should be noted that on constructions sites, lighting has the opposite effect. Turn off the lights on your construction site and have a security system that uses infrared and sound detection, like Sonitrol verified systems, to capture the criminal before he gets away with your assets. Keeping them in the dark will make it harder for them to find their way around, and it can slow them down while police respond.

Dumpsters

Place all dumpsters away from doors. This will help reduce internal losses during the daytime hours. Having dumpsters too close to doors makes it easier for internal criminal activity to take place by providing an easy temporary hiding place for valuable inventory.

Keyless Entry

Eliminate keys and replace them with an electronic door locking system that can be programmed to allow authorized individuals entry to specific doors, during specified hours. Also, consider adding an electronic access system to your server room.

Customized Security System

Install a quality alarm system - Consider a Sonitrol Verified Alarm with CCTV video surveillance and audio detection protection. With over 172,000 criminal captures since we started keeping track in 1979, criminals know how Police respond to Sonitrol dispatches and tend to stay away from Sonitrol protected properties. We offer customized Verified security solutions for all types of businesses. Fully integrated, scalable, and totally customized to your specific needs, our security packages will do the job of protecting your assets from theft and vandalism and more.

These are just some of the things you can do to protect your business, your assets, and your employees. Use this checklist to ensure you aren’t appearing as an easy target to criminals. If you have questions about how to better protect your business, please contact us today.

About Sonitrol Western Canada

We're so confident in our technology and responsive service, that no one else in the industry can match our guarantee.  Our unique verified audio and CCTV video business security solutions enable our operators to hear and see what is happening in your business before the criminals gain entry!!  We verify the actual source of the alarm, and we get the police to attend the scene immediately.  FOR A FREE SECURITY AUDIT, click here, or call 1-866-766-4876 - We are a security company with over 150 offices across North America serving clients across Western Canada in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon.  

Sonitrol Western Canada, with its Verified Electronic Security Systems, is committed to providing customers with the most comprehensive security protection.  Cooperation in the elimination of false alarms is not only beneficial to the system’s user but results in better protection of the entire community by allowing law enforcement to use their resources as efficiently as possible.