Calling all vaults around the world ... you have to upgrade your security alarms to a Verified Active Audio Security System.

 

The recent Hatton Garden jewelry heist has the makings of a Hollywood movie.  A gang of six thieves plotted to commit a bold robbery of precious jewels and cash in London England’s jewelry district.  

These sophisticated thieves patiently hid in an office building waiting for staff to complete their safety deposit centre lockup on Easter weekend.  

Once the coast was clear, the criminals proceeded to rappel down an elevator shaft until they reached the basement.  After cutting through metal security bars, the jewel thieves disabled the vault alarm system and used state-of-the-art tools to drill through an 18 inch thick reinforced metal door!  The drilling would have made a lot of noise and yet there were no active audio alarms used, just CCTV.

The bold gem thieves raided over 70 safety deposit boxes, returning twice within the 3-day heist.  And they got away clean although it was all recorded on CCTV so owners and investigators could watch after the fact. 

This case is an example where how a conventional motion sensor/ door contact security alarm failed to protect precious gems valued at 200 million pounds.

 

So what went wrong?

 

 Every retailer knows that carelessly handled inventory and internal “shrinkage” can add up to a serious bottom-line problem. But when your inventory is literally made up of precious gems, lots of gold, high-end custom jewelry, and the most expensive luxury handbags and fashion accessories you can imagine, a single item of lost inventory can add up very quickly indeed, and the "loss" of more than one item can be financially huge with a large impact on your bottom line.

 

Add to this the temptation that a random smash-and-grab thief may have, or the specific targeting of a luxury goods store by sophisticated and organized criminals, often armed, then you'll quickly see the need and importance to have a top quality security solution.

 

 

Not all break-ins occur at night. 

There are many instances reported by the Police of break-ins during daytime, by audacious criminals who pretend to be employees, an IT worker, or a repairman. They just casually walk into an office (usually larger offices with lots of staff), and steal valuables from the desk of employees.

These businesses are incredibly lucky.  While it is extremely unfortunate that valuable items owned by employees are stolen, the situation could be much worse.  

 

There are hundreds security companies out there who will sell you low end, inadequate consumer monitored security products; such as surveillance CCTV cameras, listening devices, motion detectors, and various alarms that look cool and some working off smart devices - but will they properly protect your business?

The so called security companies that sell you these "low-end' security alarms, may impress you with the latest technology, but it's very likely they don't have the security experience and expertise to recommend a fully integrated central station monitored security system that will really work to protect your premises, assets and employees. They primarily want to sell you any security device, maybe install it for you, and then the relationship is over.

When looking at a security system, you have to consider your responsibility as it relates to business risk, your insurance policy and your employee safety, and going cheap with a self monitored systems is not recommended and will cost you when a crime is committed.

Sonitrol Western Canada Is A Different Type Of Security Firm

 

Selecting a security system for your business is one of the most important decisions you will make. The problem is that it is often one of the last considerations made when opening a new location or renovating.

Click here to watch "Mistakes Businesses Make in Handling Security."

 

Here are some common myths that may affect your security decision.

 

Workplace violence is ranked as the number one concern for employees. With more than 356,000 violent workplace incidents reported by Statistics Canada in 2004 with associated costs of up to $36 billion annually, workplace safety is becoming a growing concern for business owners.  

 

Understanding workplace violence, identifying your risk factors, and implementing professional office security solutions are significant steps to take to protect your workplace from violence.  

 

What is Workplace Violence?

In the 1950s, a man named Robert Baxter started installing microphones in walls to detect termite colonies.

In discussions with a friend, who was a Police Officer frustrated by wasting Police resources responding to false alarm calls, they determined that these microphones could create a verified security system and they patented the technology and founded Sonitrol based on his invention.

Since then, Sonitrol has grown rapidly to become The leading Verified security alarm company in North America.

 

 

The Retail Council of Canada reports retail theft costs $4 billion a year, an average loss to retailers of $10.8 million per shopping day!

The loss of inventory because of employee theft, customer theft, organized crime, counting errors, damaged goods, or fraud is called Retail Shrinkage, and it has a big impact on a retailer's bottom line.  

If you're a retailer, you're well aware of how costly and time consuming it is to manage loss prevention. In a recent Canadian Retail Security Survey, by the Retail Council of Canada, they found that shrinkage has been increasing since 2008, and is now approximately $4 billion a year.  That's an average loss to Canadian retailers of $10.8 million per shopping day! 

Shrinkage losses are a constant battle and not only hit the bottom line, but indirectly cost retailers time and resources for loss prevention management. The survey found that retail chain stores spend on average 2% of sales dollars on loss prevention.  Every retail storeowner needs to think seriously about preventing theft from a profit and loss perspective, but more importantly, they need to understand their responsibility in providing employees with a safe work environment, especially in the case of a violent armed robbery.

Retail stores that are very vulnerable to theft, and especially armed robbery, must invest in improving their security systems. Many just have cheap CCTV systems bought off the Internet with no real security features. Retailers cannot put the lives of their store employees on the line. Your local Police are experts in handling armed robbery situations and the sooner they're aware of the crime in progress the better.

 

Across Western Canada there are tens of thousands of CCTV cameras protecting valuable business assets that do nothing more than record what's going on.  In some cases these cameras are watched by an expensive on-site security guard who really does try to stay awake watching a static CCTV monitor for activity.

 

Most CCTV security systems don’t have a human watching them live and are either naively used as a visual deterrent, or people only view the recorded CCTV footage retrospectively, and get to watch the break-in after the fact, after the criminal has gone, and the damage has been done.

 

According to the RCMP, police departments across Canada respond daily to burglar intrusion alarms. However, more than 98% of the alarms the Police attend are false. 

 

Therefore responding to false burglar alarms isn't always good, as they can delay Police officers from more important Police work and community needs, and this distraction increases the concern for Police officer safety and costs millions of dollars of wasted public money annually. 

 

City Police departments across Western Canada have now implemented False Alarm Policies that can be anything from a suspension of Police services to a premise with a false alarm history, to the need for burglar alarm licences - which may not be renewed if there is a repeat false alarm problem. Your local Police department can also fine you $100 - $500 to recover their costs. 

 

Back in November, just before consumers packed the malls and small neighbourhood shops, Crime Stoppers ran a campaign to make people more aware of retail crime.

Crime Stoppers purchased radio ads, distributed flyers, and promoted a slick interactive website - www.ItCostsUsAll.com where members of the public could participate in an onine poll to vote for stiffer penalties for retail theft.

 

Surprising Statistics From Crime Stoppers About Retail Crimes In Canada

 

 

Conventional alarms have a 98% false alarm rate, so why would anyone buy a conventional security system with a motion sensor and a door contact alarm to protect their business?  The Police won't even respond!

To combat the high volume of unnecessary false alarms created by conventional alarm systems and in an effort to raise awareness of the wasted law enforcement resources, many cities and provinces across Canada have been implementing two different types of false alarm prevention programs:

I want to conclude my series of blogs about construction theft by sharing some construction industry data and facts. It's hard to put an exact figure on the total cost of construction theft to construction companies and contractors in Canada, but according to a report from Zurich Canada, we can safely say that the amount is severely under reported in the area of $46 million per year in insurance claims.

My last few blogs were about the growing problem of copper theft, some of which occurs on construction sites.  But if we put copper theft to one side, general theft on the construction site is also a serious problem and has to be solved.

The CBC recently reported that construction site theft was driving up home prices. Homebuilders for example, have estimated that new residential home vandalism and theft cost about $1,000 per home.  And if heavy equipment is stolen, the replacement cost could be in the $100,000’s of dollars.

Construction equipment theft is a heavy burden on the industry as a whole, which is largely comprised of small businesses, contractors and developers. Insurance claims don’t usually cover the full costs involved, and inevitably the extra costs gets passed on to the purchaser.

If you’re a general contractor, project manager, or construction site superintendent, the last thing you need heading into an aggressive spring construction season is the loss of valuable tools, equipment, and materials - not to mention having your trailers and storage compounds rifled through and damaged.

 

You might think it’s enough to have a fenced, well-lit area, with secure locked gates - but it isn’t.