|
SECURITY TIPS - BUSINESS PREMISES
- Always check the control panel when arming the alarm to look for signs of technical faults. Check that the connection from the panel to the radio transmitter or telephone is intact, and that the radio's antenna is fitted correctly.
- Remain aware of exactly where your alarm system covers the premises and where it does not, and consult us should you wish to extend the coverage. Ensure that any space detectors have not become screened by anything placed just in front of them.
- At least every three years, consider upgrading or modernising in accordance with your changing needs, new technology and prevailing criminal methods. If your alarm is only monitored by means of radio signal, we recommend upgrading it to be monitored by both radio and telephone for better security.
- Lock and secure your premises, install reasonable physical security measures (bars, solid doors, good locks), and if possible keep some lights on during the night. Make prompt repairs of any damage which may occur to windows or doors, so that our response crews can determine exactly when a forced entry attempt has taken place.
- Do not store valuable items close to windows. Be wary of criminals using opened or broken windows to "fish" items out of the premises without entering themselves.
- Always ensure that we are updated with current telephone numbers of both the business site itself and the residences of management keyholders whom we can contact outside working hours when necessary.
- Do not take cash home. Cash and small high-value items should be stored in a suitable safe at the premises which is covered by the alarm system and fitted with a time lock. We can supply time locks which help prevent the hostage situation of the businessman (or his family) being taken forcibly from their home to disarm the alarm and open the safe. The existence of the time lock is advertised on the premises as a deterrent. The same unit helps prevent robbery during working hours by using a delayed opening procedure.
- Inform us if the value or nature of your stocks changes significantly; we may need to upgrade the alarm. Electronic goods and cell phone stocks should be kept inside a suitable strongroom or at least so that there is a significant physical barrier which imposes a delay between when the alarm is activated and when the intruder can gain physical access to the stocks.
- Keep the minimum amount of cash in the tills at the counter, and regularly transfer cash to the safe during open hours. Only cash up for banking in a secure room away from public view.
- Do not keep a firearm at the business for security purposes. Apart from the legal implications, this is widely accepted as being both ineffective as a security measure and dangerous to the safety of the businessman, his staff and clients
- Our associate company, Security Express, offers a high security transportation service to move cash to the bank or to collect payrolls. This company uses a sophisticated note-staining system which deters robbery by rendering the cash unusable in the circumstances normally involved with a robbery attempt.
- As alarms cannot on their own provide "total" security, maintain suitable insurance against burglary, and be sure that your insurance broker is aware that you have a good monitored security alarm. Take careful note of the requirements of the insurance policy. We issue certificates confirming that an alarm is installed, but if you do not have this to hand, we can issue another on request.
- Your alarm can be monitored for when it is disarmed at strange hours.
- Access control using cards can be very effective in preventing losses during the working day, without reducing your operational convenience. Specific areas of the business can be accessed only by selected personnel.
- Closed circuit television and recording systems are becoming increasingly affordable through new technology. Consider where such systems may help reduce shrinkage. CCTV cameras can also be used by us to obtain visual verification of activity inside a premises after it has been closed; this verification system is triggered by the activation of the alarm, and enables us to establish precisely whether anyone is inside the premises, and therefore whether we should disturb keyholders to request access. This is particularly relevant to large premises where few windows allow a view of the interior from the outside.
|
|
DON'T OPEN THE DOOR TO STRANGERS
Even with an alarm system in your house, it is best to avoid the situation of opening the door to a hostile person who may then threaten you. In order to remove this direct exposure to possible attack, there are a number of options which will allow you to confirm the identity of the caller before you let them in:-
- A metal grill on the outside of your front door;
- A door viewing "eye" to see through the door;
- A voice-only intercom or a voice and video screen intercom at the front door or, better still, the front gate (available from Automated Security);
- A door chain.
Ask for identity cards if the callers say they represent one of the utility services, alarm technicians or any other such service.
Do not keep large amounts of cash at home. Business men - do not routinely take business cash home overnight. A suitable safe at the office and with a time lock should be used.
UPGRADING OLDER ALARM KEY SWITCHES AT RESIDENCES
We install systems with either external key switches, internal digital pads, or portable button operation. If your alarm has an external, barrel-type, key switch, please check with our Sales Department whether your key switch needs a minor upgrade to bring the anti-tamper protection up to current standards. There are certain security advantages to key switches over other methods of arming, but technology has advanced, and if your key switch is over four years old and has not been upgraded since it was installed, we recommend replacing it with a more sophisticated unit.
ELECTRIC FENCES
We can monitor electric fences as a separately identifiable alarm signal so that our response crews know before they arrive that it is the fence which has been broken or earthed. Unlike most alarm companies, we do not increase our monthly charge where we already monitor an alarm system, although there may be an initial charge for connecting the fence to the alarm.
However, please note that we offer no technical support or design responsibility for electric fences, but only monitor the output signal from the fence's control box. In simple terms, if the fence fails to send its signal for any reason, we will receive no remote signal in our control centre, and we do not include electric fences in our maintenance service.
"KEYHOLDER" INFORMATION
Your security is significantly increased without additional cost if you keep us regularly updated with the names and home phone numbers of alternative keyholders. These are the people we contact in the event of our finding evidence of break-in to your premises. In the case of business premises, keyholders should be members of management who have keys to the premises. For residences, keyholders should be people other than the normal occupant, and whom we contact only when the normal occupant is away. This is especially important over a holiday period when many people are away. Your selected keyholder details can be altered on any working day without charge, but please note that we only accept written instructions for reasons relating to your own security. We regret that we cannot accept e-mail instructions as we cannot verify the identity of the sender.
|
|
