 |
|
CRIME PREVENTION! • Did you know that businesses are more at risk of crime than homes? Crimes affect businesses in many ways. There are the obvious costs of stolen or damaged stock, repairs to buildings and replacement of equipment. But crimes also involve disruption to your business and the loss of management time. Crime often leads to hidden costs which were not anticipated such as lost business, liability claims and higher insurance premiums. What about information stored on your computers if they are stolen? Have you got a back-up scheme? How about your staff? The traumatic effects of crime will have an impact on your employees possibly resulting in uncertain job security and demoralized and frightened staff. This can lead to a reduction in staff productivity and absenteeism. The result of all these effects could lose you customers and affect the profitability and competitive viability of your business. There are wider knock-on effects, as the local community will also suffer from offences committed against your business; as areas with high crime rates are less attractive to potential investors. Would you want to live in or start a business in an area with boarded-up shops, broken windows and graffiti everywhere? Once your business has been attacked, it is five times more likely to be targeted again. As the successful criminal has come to identify a weakness, you must upgrade the security at that point. For example, merely replacing a broken window at a point of entry with another similar window leaves it vulnerable to another break-in. Improve your business’ security through looking at your business through the eyes of a criminal to help you identify areas for improvement. Modern alarm systems have bell boxes that incorporate pulsing led lights as confirmation of a functioning alarm system. It has been proven that a visible burglar alarm system will make a burglar think twice! For further information on crime log on to www.crimereduction.gov.uk |
 |