You’d be forgiven for thinking lockdown would see crime rates plummet.

However, while lockdown has reduced minor crimes such as shoplifting, mothballed offices, industrial units and commercial premises are the new top targets for organised criminals. Added to this, the economic slowdown and personal financial pressures only serve to drive-up crime rates (thefts rose 25% during the 2009 recession[1]).

So, just how big is the risk?

According to the Federation of Small Businesses, 50% of small firms have been victims of crime in the last two years, costing on average £14,000[2].

With crime expected to rise, here at Red Security we’ve listed our top 3 risk factors for businesses and how to mitigate them.

1. Employee access

While it may sound cynical, it’s an issue that businesses can’t ignore – in the UK, the annual cost of employee theft is around £190 million with 80% of items stolen by employees in positions of trust and responsibility[3]. This could be employees stealing items themselves or passing on sensitive information such as access codes, to criminals. Businesses can mitigate the risk by:

• Assigning individual alarm or entry system codes to individual employees (or suppliers/contractors). This means the employee cannot pass the code to someone else to use (without it being logged) and also allows employers to view which employees accessed which areas and when.
• Programming entry fobs or codes so that only certain employees can access certain areas at certain times.
• Installing CCTV in high-risk or sensitive areas (for example, retailers may choose to install security cameras to monitor tills). This CCTV coverage is also important in protecting the health and safety of employees who may be working alone, at night or in hazardous areas.

Finally, businesses shouldn’t overlook the risk of employees holding valuable company equipment in home offices during lockdown. A basic intruder alarm system can offer a cost-effective way to protect both employees’ property and company assets – from equipment to data.

2. Badly designed security systems

Be under no illusion, a professional criminal knows a decent security system when they see one; they’ll also know how to bypass a poor one (and you certainly won’t fool them with a dummy alarm bell or camera).

A security system – be it an intruder alarm or security cameras – is useless unless it is well designed. Though this may sound obvious, it’s surprising how many security systems simply aren’t fit for purpose. Signs that your system is vulnerable include:

• Exposed, easily accessible cameras and/or cables which make it easy for intruders to simply disable, cover or bypass them.
• Intruder alarm bell boxes that are unlit, unbranded or obscured – the primary purpose of bell boxes is to deter intruders by being both seen and heard.
• CCTV security cameras that are wrongly positioned and fail to cover key entry/vulnerable points (you’d be surprised how many cameras we see pointing at a blank wall!).
• Poorly positioned or obscured motion detectors. Movement sensors can sometimes become obstructed by large boxes/furniture during office refurbishment.
• Areas left uncovered by detectors due to badly designed systems or simply to reduce installation costs. This could lead to an intruder breaking into the premises without triggering the alarm or even to staff disarming the system and being confronted by an intruder when they walk into the non-protected area.

3. Lack of control and visibility

With many business owners and staff now working off premises, it is crucial they can access and control systems from wherever they are, via any device, to ensure they are functioning properly as well as to be alerted to suspicious activity, 24/7.

While many businesses will use a monitoring and/or police response service, most modern systems offer a function that allows users to be alerted to unusual activity or break-ins via  their mobile or tablet anywhere in the world. Despite this, many businesses are either unaware of the functionality or have yet to install or activate it, massively limiting their ability to spot, flag and prevent, criminal activity. Most security systems now allow users the option to remotely:

• Take control of CCTV cameras to scan the premises.
• Speak directly to the perpetrator via loudspeaker.
• Play back CCTV footage should they receive an alarm alert, to check it is safe to enter the premises or to pass to the authorities.
• Arm and disarm the alarm remotely via app (for example if you need to allow access to a supplier without having to hand over the code).

Finally, don’t fall foul of data and privacy laws. If you’re recording or storing CCTV footage, you need to comply with a number of laws including data storage and signage requirements.

Based in Bournemouth, Red Security Systems design and install security systems across Dorset and Hampshire. Contact us on 01202 798 017 or info@redsecuritysystems.co.uk for a free survey.

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/apr/23/british-crime-survey-figures-robbery

[2] https://www.fsb.org.uk/resource-report/calling-time-on-business-crime.html

[3] https://hraspectsmagazine.co.uk/employee-theft/