With January well under way, those who work in or manage office buildings will likely have a lot on their plates, whether it’s budgeting, marketing or reviewing staff for the new year – but how much time do you spend reviewing your office security?
We’ve always been committed to providing robust, industry-leading products and services for offices, regardless of size or budget. In this blog post, we will cover the main areas of office security to review in 2017 to reduce the risk of crime at your office.
Carry Out A Review Of Internal Access
Unfortunately, the risk of internal theft is an ever-present worry for business owners, and whilst you may trust your staff wholly – carrying out an access audit helps you determine who has access to what areas of the building, reducing the risk of internal theft as well as helping you get more organised:
Keys – Collection and re-allocation of all keys that allow access to various areas of the building, this will allow you to determine whether any keys have been lost or stolen – and also allows you to decide how much access members of staff get to the building. Installing a key cabinet can help you keep track of the keys in future.
If you find numerous sets of keys have gone missing, it may be worth considering changing your locking system, there are also keyless systems available to eliminate this risk in future
Safes – If your office has a commercial safe, it’s important to review who has access to this in case theft does occur. Keep your keys in a secure place, or if your safe is locked with a digital code, change the code regularly, and avoid writing it down on a piece of paper.
Staff Training – Implementing access procedures and educating employees on how to prevent a break-in is one of the most cost effective and convenient ways of securing your office.
Hiring New Staff – When hiring a new member of staff, always take the time to carry out a background check, covering their references, history and criminal records.
Ensure Entry Points To Your Office Are Secure
If the entry points to your premises aren’t secure, the risk of a break-in increases significantly, below are some recommendations on products you can use to secure your entry points:
Window Locks – As well as the standard locks that are fitted onto your windows, additional window locks can be purchased and fitted at a reasonable price, these include jammers that prevent forced entry and cables that restrict how much the window can open.
Steel Security Doors – The most common way intruders gain access to a property is by forcing entry through a door or window, a steel security door adds a second, extremely robust layer of security to the door. These doors come with 12 point locking systems and can’t be forced open with a crowbar.
Security Grilles – Security grilles fit straight onto your interior and exterior doors and windows. These grilles are ideal for adding a layer of security, without compromising the amount of light coming into the room.
Install Deterrents On Your Premises
Deterrents are the most effective way of preventing break-ins, and often don’t come at a significant cost:
- Install a strong padlock on the entry gate to your premises (if applicable).
- Install motion activated lighting around your premises, note that in isolated dark areas, this may aid the intruder.
- Consider installing CCTV, these can be reviewed remotely and will help the police significantly should a crime take place.
- Burglar alarms are also an effective If budget is tight – you can buy dummy burglar alarms from most hardware shops or online.
Start The New Year The Right Way With Thornhill Security
At Thornhill, we understand there is much to consider when managing an office, but we always recommend keeping security in mind. If you need help securing your premises, or require more information about the products and services we offer, give one of our friendly team a call on 0117 967 4994.