Businesses are targeted by criminals for a variety of reasons, such as the higher value of assets inside, poor security measures in place, and the fact that most businesses are empty during the evening hours. A single act of business theft or burglary can cost companies thousands of dollars, not to mention the loss of security and peace of mind for business owners, employees, and customers. In today's blog post, we highlight three specific ways owners and management can keep thieves from targeting their business.

Add Video or Camera Systems

Digital video and camera systems are an excellent investment for businesses as they can significantly reduce theft, robberies, assaults, or vandalism on commercial properties. They can quickly capture illegal activity that occurs in the daytime or evening, whether from random criminals, disgruntled customers, or even employees stealing from the company. Cameras and video systems provide both business owners and law enforcement with the information necessary to identify, arrest, and prosecute a criminal, as they can capture faces, voices, body types, and even getaway vehicles. A simple security system can deter criminals who do not want to end up on the evening news because a security camera recorded them attempting to commit a crime.

Brighten Your Property At Night

Thieves will often look for the easiest point of entry, or target businesses with poor lighting near doors or parking lots. Reduce the threat of theft or burglary by increasing landscape and security lighting so there are fewer places for criminals to hide. If it's not feasible to install a complete landscape lighting system, motion detector lights can also be effective in scaring away potential thieves or vandals from a commercial property, or draw attention from passerby to suspicious activity. Landscape and security lighting can work in conjunction with security cameras and video to clearly identify individuals or groups targeting a business.

Properly Train Employees

Criminals may target certain companies during working hours because their employees are regularly distracted or untrained on how to properly guard merchandise. Business owners should take the time to train employees on how to avoid distractions that could lead to property theft, how to correctly guard merchandise, and what types of suspicious activity to watch for. An alert, prepared employee not only helps keep business assets safe, but they can also better protect themselves, and the safety of other employees and customers.

Criminals have become more brazen in targeting businesses, particularly during daytime hours. For this reason business owners have to be proactive and vigilant in protecting their business assets, employees, and customers. Another way to protect these is through quality commercial insurance from Aegis Insurance & Financial Services. Aegis offers a full range of exceptional commercial insurance solutions, tailored to your unique industry and business needs. Contact Aegis today at 713-850-7622 for more information, or go online to request a free quote!