As lockdown relaxes… burglars get busy

A survey of 2000 UK adults by John Lewis Home Insurance has found that the average amount spent on new items for our homes during the pandemic was over £4,300.

Tablets, TVs, gym equipment have been purchased to turn homes into offices, classrooms and fitness centres.

Sadly most homeowners did not invest on upgrading their home security…

And now they are planning weekends away at the coast or jetting off for a week at a green-listed holiday destination leaving their homes unprotected.

Crimestoppers has warned that, with so much new tech and gadgetry in empty homes, burglars will be having a second Christmas.

#property-safety

Burglary: Residential Properties vs Business & Community Premises

The Government defines:

burglary
attempted burglary
distraction burglary
attempted distraction burglary
aggravated burglary

for both residential properties and business & community premises – with examples.

Plus the recommended sentences for each type of offence.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/977205/count-burglary-apr-2021.pdf

#property-safety

How do burglars choose their next victim?
Amateur burglars are more likely to act on impulse, draw attention and leave evidence. Professionals do not…

With a lot of break-ins under their belt seasoned pros understand the value of staking out a property before making a move. They figure out the easiest targets and the best time to strike.

An experienced thief may walk past your home at the same time every day for a week. He’ll look for patterns. And your daily routine. Or… break in during the school run – just to be safe.

Often he’ll walk up and down the street and try all the front doors. He may look in your windows. Especially when the lights are on but the curtains are open. He’s sneaky. He’ll spot iPads, wireless sound systems and games consoles.

So… how do you stop a professional burglar from choosing your home?

Take our home security quiz
https://property-safety.com/home-security
#firesecurity

Factory security horror stories

A fastener manufacturer in Sheffield recently began expanding their premises by purchasing another building next door. This needed a lot of work.

Because they were doing demolition work, the company decided that they did not need any security on the place. They could add these systems when the construction work was completed.

That’s when DISASTER struck!

Thieves broke in over the weekend. They removed all of the cables and copper piping. Of course, the wiring was due to be replaced anyway so it was not really a problem…

The pesky burglars forgot to turn the water off when they legged it with the pipes. As a result, on Monday morning, when the company returned to work, they found a large part of the building was FLOODED!

No one expected that! But with the right security in place, it would never have happened! And that’s when the knock-on costs of that poor business decision started to kick in.

Cause and effect… of trying to save money on security
The flooding meant that works had to be put on hold for a full week.

How much did a week’s delay cost the company?

Around £100,000!

And this was for a security breach in an unfinished section. If this had happened in the main production area, the cost would have been even higher.

So this was just water. Fire damage might be even worse. Especially if there is a lot of tooling, transformers and customers’ stock.

Having a good Fire and Security system will also make dealing with the insurances a lot easier.

The advantages of a well maintained, efficient commercial security and fire alarm system begin to make sense. Because avoiding disasters and downtime is critically important to all manufacturers.

#firesecurity

Factory security horror stories

A fastener manufacturer in Sheffield recently began expanding their premises by purchasing another building next door. This needed a lot of work.

Because they were doing demolition work, the company decided that they did not need any security on the place. They could add these systems when the construction work was completed.

That’s when DISASTER struck!

Thieves broke in over the weekend. They removed all of the cables and copper piping. Of course, the wiring was due to be replaced anyway so it was not really a problem…

The pesky burglars forgot to turn the water off when they legged it with the pipes. As a result, on Monday morning, when the company returned to work, they found a large part of the building was FLOODED!

No one expected that! But with the right security in place, it would never have happened! And that’s when the knock-on costs of that poor business decision started to kick in.

Cause and effect… of trying to save money on security
The flooding meant that works had to be put on hold for a full week.

How much did a week’s delay cost the company?

Around £100,000!

And this was for a security breach in an unfinished section. If this had happened in the main production area, the cost would have been even higher.

So this was just water. Fire damage might be even worse. Especially if there is a lot of tooling, transformers and customers’ stock.

Having a good Fire and Security system will also make dealing with the insurances a lot easier.

The advantages of a well maintained, efficient Fire & Security system begin to make sense. Because avoiding disasters and downtime is critically important to all manufacturers.

#firesecurity

Who’s monitoring your home alarm system?

As lockdown comes to an end, we’re all starting to think about a time when we can leave our homes for more than just a quick walk.
But what happens when your home alarm goes off whilst you’re not there?

Alarm scenario 1
The loud noise of an alarm should scare them off if they do attempt entry. However, some bold offenders might persist despite the noise. And, if your neighbours ignore the loud siren, the burglars get away with their crime.

Alarm scenario 2
Your mobile app sends you a text to alert you that one of your PIRs has been activated. But if you’re on holiday, you’ve got to:
hear your phone; and
call your neighbours or a family member at three in the morning to check your home
This is often followed by the embarrassment of having dragged them out of bed for a false alarm. Having neighbours monitoring your home security can put a lot of pressure on even the strongest of friendships.
AND RELAX!!

Alarm scenario 3
Your alarm sends a signal to an ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre).
Within seconds the ARC verifies the signal.
The Police respond to a confirmed alarm activation at your property.

Which one of those scenarios would you prefer?

#firesecurity

Who’s monitoring your home alarm system?

As lockdown comes to an end, we’re all starting to think about a time when we can leave our homes for more than just a quick walk.
But what happens when your home alarm goes off whilst you’re not there?

Alarm scenario 1
The loud noise of an alarm should scare them off if they do attempt entry. However, some bold offenders might persist despite the noise. And, if your neighbours ignore the loud siren, the burglars get away with their crime.

Alarm scenario 2
Your mobile app sends you a text to alert you that one of your PIRs has been activated. But if you’re on holiday, you’ve got to:
hear your phone; and
call your neighbours or a family member at three in the morning to check your home
This is often followed by the embarrassment of having dragged them out of bed for a false alarm. Having neighbours monitoring your home security can put a lot of pressure on even the strongest of friendships.
AND RELAX!!

Alarm scenario 3
Your alarm sends a signal to an ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre).
Within seconds the ARC verifies the signal.
The Police respond to a confirmed alarm activation at your property.

Which one of those scenarios would you prefer?

#firesecurity

6 crucial things you need to burglar-proof your business

A friend proudly took me round his new business premises. He had pictures from the last 4 months of work getting the office shipshape. It was all ready for his staff to move in on the Monday. But his happy face turned into a frown when I asked about his business security arrangements.

After all that effort and expense, he had forgotten that there are people out there who want to spoil it all.

I took him through a few things that can make a real difference to keeping your business safe from burglary.

#firesecurity
https://property-safety.com/keep-your-business-safe-from-burglary

Who’s monitoring your home alarm system?
As lockdown comes to an end, we’re all starting to think about a time when we can leave our homes for more than just a quick walk.
But what happens when your home alarm goes off whilst you’re not there?
Alarm scenario 1
The loud noise of an alarm should scare them off if they do attempt entry. However, some bold offenders might persist despite the noise. And, if your neighbours ignore the loud siren, the burglars get away with their crime.
Alarm scenario 2
Your mobile app sends you a text to alert you that one of your PIRs has been activated. But if you’re on holiday, you’ve got to:
hear your phone; and
call your neighbours or a family member at three in the morning to check your home
This is often followed by the embarrassment of having dragged them out of bed for a false alarm. Having neighbours monitoring your home security can put a lot of pressure on even the strongest of friendships.
AND RELAX!!
Alarm scenario 3
Your alarm sends a signal to an ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre).
Within seconds the ARC verifies the signal.
The Police respond to a confirmed alarm activation at your property.
Which one of those scenarios would you prefer?
#firesecurity
https://property-safety.com/alarm-monitoring-companies…