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Three Tips For Small Business Owners Looking To Increase Their Store's Security

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As the owner of a small store, your commercial property's security is vital to ensuring your company remains profitable. Therefore, you must have proper security measures in place in order to prevent burglaries happening when you are off-site. Below are three tips to help increase the security of your store:

Take Good Care of Your Keys

Despite your best intentions, you're probably not going to be around everyday to open up your store in the morning and lock up at night. It's important that you have managers and supervisors that are able to take this responsibility out of your hands; however, it's even more important that you keep a close eye on exactly who has a key and how many keys are in circulation. If you don't, you increase the risk of keys falling into the wrong hands, which can be potentially dangerous for your business.

Therefore, make sure you have proper procedures in place to monitor your keys and keep track of where they are at all times. Some things to remember are:

  • If an employee leaves your company and forgets to hand in their key, change all of the locks to ensure your company's safety.

  • Keep an up-to-date record of where your keys are at all times, and make sure you have both a paper copy and a digital copy in case one becomes lost.

  • Have a different key for each door. Some people think using a master key is easiest, but this introduces an extra element of risk as potential burglars will be able to access every part of your store, including your office.

Install Silent Burglar Alarms

You probably already have a few burglar alarms installed inside your store, and this is a great start. However, you should consider changing out your regular burglar alarms for silent alarms as this type of alarm helps the authorities to catch criminals inside of your store. This is because silent alarms do not alert the burglar; rather, the alarm sends out a signal to your local authorities who can then appear on-site without the burglar noticing.

Many silent burglar alarms are monitored by central monitoring stations that act as a "middle-man" between your store and the authorities. These companies can also monitor your CCTV cameras and so are able to provide a comprehensive security service for your company. Depending on your company's needs, it may be worthwhile paying the monitoring company's monthly fees to ensure your business remains secure at all times.

Install High Quality Locks

Installing burglar alarms is great as a last line of defense, but the best way to protect yourself against burglaries is to ensure that the criminals aren't allowed entry in the first place. Modern criminals are well-versed in the art of gaining entry to buildings, whether it's by brute force or the finesse of lock-picking. Therefore, it's important to choose a locking system that protects against both these methods and ensure your store is safe when you're not around.

When choosing a lock, keep the following things in mind:

  • High caliber, dead-bolt locks are typically more expensive than standard five-lever mortice locks; however, they are much more secure. Also, if your store is robbed despite installing a high-quality lock, insurance companies are likely to pay more if they know you had a strong lock in place.

  • Remember to reinforce your doors with heavy-duty metal and strong screws to ensure the door doesn't give way before the lock does.

  • Make sure your locking system is properly installed by a professional locksmith. The strongest locks on the market are ineffective if they are poorly installed. Even if the latch bolt is separated from the door by a small distance, the integrity of your locking system could be compromised. Make sure your store is safe by contracting fully qualified and trusted locksmiths to install the system on your behalf.   

For more information about keeping your business property as safe as possible, contact a company like  Suburban Lock.


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