5 tips to secure your business premises when it’s unoccupied

Whether you're treating yourself to a well deserved break, or you've simply closed for the day. Leaving your business unoccupied can be the prime time for criminals to enter your business premises. However, there are some must-know safety measures to take to ensure this doesn't happen - or if it does, those pesky criminals will get caught in the act.

With that in mind, Nick Booth, Director of ISET Solutions, shares his tips on how to secure your business premises when its unoccupied.

Have a closedown routine

Regardless of whether you’re just closing for the night or closing for a holiday, you need a closedown routine. You should implement one of these throughout the year. It’s vital you do so, especially over seasons and holidays such as Christmas. Similarly, you need clear records of who’s coming and going in your building. Depending on your line of work, there could be a lot more people than usual.

Double-check your access controls

This is particularly important if you have external parties such as customers or suppliers visiting your business premises. Make sure that there are clear boundaries between public and private areas. As much as possible, make sure that these are enforced by some form of physical barrier even if it’s just a curtain.

Review your lighting

You might not have thought about lighting at first, but when it comes to darker months of the year, the right lighting can make all the difference.

That means you need effective outdoor lighting. It’s also a good idea to double-check your indoor lighting. If somebody does get somewhere they shouldn’t, you want to be able to see them clearly. At other times of the year, natural light might be sufficient to see all the corners of a room. In winter, however, you need all your artificial lights to be working.

Depending on your business, you might also want to consider upgrading to smart lighting. This can be operated remotely. It might, therefore, be used to suggest that a building is in use when it isn’t. Alternatively, it could just be activated remotely if someone needed to see into a particular area via CCTV.

Clean up your exterior

Make sure any exterior barriers are in full working order. As far as possible, keep your exterior free of any sort of debris. This can limit the effectiveness of security cameras. Similarly, make sure that any exterior signage are carefully located to avoid creating a visual barrier for CCTV cameras. You don’t want your business sign to become a hiding place for criminals.

If you're unable to change the positioning of certain exterior branding items, then you should re-consider where to install CCTV cameras for your business.

In some locations, you may find that your security is compromised by other people’s actions. For example, if your neighbour moves their bins for their convenience, it may create a barrier for your CCTV cameras. Often these situations can be resolved by good communication. If not, then using a wireless security camera and extra lighting will probably do the trick.

Check and test your security equipment

In this context, the term “security equipment” extends to doors (particularly external ones) and windows as well as anything specifically for security. This might include security shutters, alarms and CCTV.

If you don’t already have security shutters then you might want to consider investing in them now especially for ground-floor windows. It’s very hard to break modern double-glazing discreetly. You either need a lot of force (which creates noise) or specialist tools and the time to use them. It is, however, possible.

It’s also possible to use windows as a way to see what’s inside a building. Ground-floor windows are particularly vulnerable to this. Even higher windows can, however, be used by determined criminals, particularly in these days of drones. This is why it’s a good idea to use net curtains and/or privacy film on them.

Consider changing the codes on alarms throughout the year, especially if you have new staff joining or are leaving your businesses unattended for more than a week. This will help to protect you from “inside jobs”.

Make sure that all cables are fully connected and protected against the weather and that batteries are fully charged. Remember, they will drain much quicker in cold weather.