Protecting your Business from Civil Unrest

Business owners need to take steps to protect their properties from a variety of dangers including robberies, fires, floods, natural disasters, civil unrest and more. You never want one of these situations to occur at or around your property, but it’s still crucial that you protect yourself.

Civil unrest can happen just about anywhere. It isn’t confined to large cities such as New York City, Los Angeles or Chicago. Recent events in Keene, New Hampshire, Lexington, Kentucky, Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland and many other cities show that riots, protests and civil disorder can start for a number of reasons and occur in cities and towns large and small across the country.

These incidents are unpredictable. While a large protest could remain peaceful and respectful, it doesn’t take long for this same protest to turn ugly, chaotic and even violent. When these situations grow in size, they become more fractured and just about anything can happen.

Large protests and outbreaks of civil unrest can be very damaging to businesses. Windows are often smashed. Merchandise is stolen. Business owners typically need to spend thousands of dollars in repairs in addition to the lost goods. Plus, these repairs often require the business to shut down for some time, which results in additional losses.

Using Physical Security to Protect your Property

In order to protect your business from the type of damage that often occurs in a large protest, riot or other incident of civil disorder, it’s crucial that you utilize physical security tools. While a number of different types of security tools and tactics exist, physical security tools provide the best protection during civil unrest.

In large scale civil unrest instances, alarm systems are often ignored. There are too many different situations going on at any given time for police or security teams to possibly respond to an alarm system in time. The number of different incidents as well as the large size of the crowd also makes security cameras and surveillance footage much more difficult to analyze. It’s often nearly impossible to find those responsible for the destruction after the fact.

Due to the nature of the situation, security cameras and alarm systems are not deterrents. However, installing a physical barrier at your property will deter people from targeting your location and drastically reduce the likelihood of your business suffering damage.

There are various different types of security gates that can be used by different types of businesses in different situations. One type is permanent gates that are installed on a property. In addition to being effective in moments of civil unrest, these gates can also be used for everyday storefront protection. They can easily be stored out of site during working hours and further concealed with wall pockets, advertising bins and other such methods. This allows your property to remain unobstructed and appealing during work hours while still providing security and a visual deterrent as needed.

An alternate option is to install security gates that can be stored offsite and deployed as required. These gates are typically stored in warehouses and can quickly and easily be brought to a location during moments of civil unrest.

Layering security using quick,easy to use fold away security gates helps provide that second layer of defense.

Why Trust Xpanda?

Xpanda has been providing physical security solutions for more than 30 years. We work with businesses of all types and sizes to ensure that they receive the level of security that they need. As a North American leader in physical security and security gates, we focus on delivering reliable and effective products as well as superior customer service and after sales support.

For more information on our services or to receive a free no-obligation quote, please do not hesitate to contact us today.

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