Is your retail business ready for the holiday crime wave?

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

Small businesses that stock products on their premises, and have manufacturing equipment and other valuable assets are vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated crime syndicates and gangs.

Today’s criminals watch, monitor and assess weaknesses in a businesses’ security measures, and time their raids to allow them to get in and out without detection, looking for the maximum reward with minimum risk.

Those that operate from residential properties and not from an industrial or commercial estate which employs security guards, may be even more susceptible to break ins as security is often less than optimal.

Retail premises that are not located within the relative safety of a large mall (and even then, shops are vulnerable) face bigger problems than petty shoplifting that is a perennial problem in the sector.

Today, retail owners face the same gangs and syndicates as small businesses, ordinary citizens turned opportunistic looters during demonstrations or civil unrest, shopfront ram raids and even armed robberies during trading hours.

“For small businesses or independent retailers with financial constraints, investing in security beyond the bare essentials is often a grudge purchase, but in reality, few businesses can afford to withstand the consequences of a break-in,” says Trellidor sales and marketing executive, Damian Judge.

Business break ins do not only result in a loss of revenue from sales of the goods that have been stolen, but loss of operating time when production is interrupted until premises can be cleaned up, damage repaired, the business is re-secured, and equipment replaced. Only then can services resume. The downtime when all this is happening can be devastating for a small business owner.

In the retail environment, it goes without saying that any theft from the shelves represents a massive revenue loss and additional trading opportunities lost in the time it takes to re-order and re-stock, which at this time of year is not always feasible.

The insurance sector, so hard hit following the unrest and rioting of 2021, increasingly requires businesses to install and maintain adequate security which includes multiple elements.

“No single security measure is sufficient protection against today’s criminals who are fearless, fast and efficient,” warns Judge.

“In conjunction with surveillance monitoring including CCTV, detection tools such as alarms and beams and other digital devices, it is essential that small business and retail owners take barrier security seriously.”

Security gates, roller shutters and other strong defences are all visual deterrents to criminals who hopefully choose not even to attempt to penetrate these physical barriers. Prevention is always better than cure and so it is important to discourage criminals from even wanting to gain entry to your property in the first place. But these barriers also need to be strong and robust.

“In addition to peripheral security doors and bars, installing interior secure zones, or safe zones (as we refer to it) to protect high value items or even staff in the event of a breach of security during working hours, are all advisable,” says Judge.

As the festive season approaches and criminals become more brazen, the review and installation of a quality security barrier systems becomes even more critical in the protection of vulnerable small businesses and seasonally well stocked retail operations.