Adjusting To Crimes Of Opportunity
We call them opportunistic criminals because these types of criminals are not the ones that make hard thought out plans. These types of thieves act by impulse, they see something that they want, or think they can make some money from and make a sudden judgment call to get it.
What may be surprising is that these crimes of opportunity are not always to get merchandise, as restaurants, hair salons, pizza parlors coffee shops will get hit as well.
There are ways to help reduce the temptation, as the saying goes “ out of sight out of mind” remove the temptations such as high ticketed items or easy to resell on the black market items, Cell phones and other electronic devices are highly targeted as well as cash.
Stores or shops that do not have merchandise are often targeted for cash, never keep cash in a cash drawer or register. At night show the drawer open with nothing inside, or remove drawer and put on top of the counter if not visible to passing by opportunistic thief. Thieves know that these types of shops often do not have alarm systems or cameras and will also break in to gain further entrance to an adjoining retailer.
Moving the smaller easy to grab, high ticketed items and storing in a secured room inside of a secured cabinet will help protect your investments. Larger items such as flat screen televisions are much more difficult to move and hide. Securing televisions with steel cables to the shelving with help prevent them from being stolen during a break in. Make sure the cable is visible during the day as some criminals will actually scope out the opportunities prior to committing the offence.
Security devices such as alarm systems or video surveillance are not designed to stop or slow down a thief. Alarm systems notify you and responders that the premises have been penetrated; the video surveillance recordings may show how they broke in, where they went, what they grabbed, what time they got in and when they left and possibly provide some evidence to the police of who it was. As important as these devices are, they are not enough to deter the opportunity.
Visual and physical security products such as fold away security gates installed inside the store behind the windows and doors will help deter, slowdown or stop a thief.
Fold away security gates provide that security barrier when you need it, but fold aside when you’re open for business. A clean inviting storefront attracts clients where fixed mounted security bars may deter clients from visiting your store.
Are you looking to improve your warehouse safety? Contact us for your security and safety barrier solutions.
