for business security

What professionals recommend for business security

1. Compound

Ensure there is a well constructed and maintained fence around the entire com pound.

Adequate lighting should be provided around the compound especially in areas where staff are required to walk at night such as to their cars.

A security guard stationed at the main gate to a factory with clear visibility of the compound will minimise risks.

Keep large bush areas trimmed so peo ple cannot hide in them and observe your activities undetected.

2. Buildings

Constructed of solid material and all holes etc. should be repaired immediately.

Exterior doors should be constructed from steel or solid timber with a deadlock.

A roller shutter should protect glass front doors on offices or factories.

Glass doors in houses ideally should have some sort of steel burglar proofing.

Windows should be locked at all times when there is no one in the building and preferably have some form of burglar

proofing.

All burglar proofing should be built into the building structure and not bolted to the exterior, which will be easy to remove.

Access to the building should be con trolled by a security guard or some means of electronic access control.

3. Cash Storage

If a business collects large sums of cash it should be stored in a good quality safe or a well constructed vault room in a secured area of the building.

Only the staff who need to know should be aware of this location and have access to this area. Access can be controlled by electronic access control systems.

All cash tills etc. should be cleared on a regular basis with the cash being stored in the safe until it is needed for banking. Tills are not designed for safe storage of cash.

When the safe or vault if opened to remove or store cash the door to this area should be locked. This should apply when the banking is being made up.

Overnight no cash should be kept in drawers or tills but should be stored in the safe or vault. The size and quality or the safe or vault would depend on the amount of cash being held in the building.

The area in which the vault or safe is kept should be alarmed and monitored so that any unauthorised entrance will be transmitted to an independent location and assistance can be summoned. It is pointless having a good safe area if burglars can spend all weekend breaking in. Eventually even the best quality safes can be broken into given time and resources. An alarm will give time to get assistance to your premises before the cash can be accessed.

A closed circuit television (CCTV) sys tem should be installed to observe and record any activity around the building especially areas that have cash. This will help detect any thefts and can be used to catch the offenders.

4. Cash Transfer or Banking

If a company is paid in cheques then the banking can be carried out by anyone.

If cash is banked then companies need to consider the following: Use a company such as

Armourguard

Vary times, routes and banks used.

Do not advertise the fact even amongst company staff.

The fewer people that know about this activity the better. Numerous robberies are a result of some sort of inside information.

5. Stuff

All employees that deal with cash or have some involvement should be Police cleared and a background check made of their character.

Limit the number of staff who have dealings with cash. This should possibly include the Accountant, Manager, Cashier and Accounts Clerk. Do not even let staff see where the cash is stored unless they need to do know.

Staff should be trained in what to do should there be a Robbery at the site.

Trained staff who have some idea of what action to take are more likely to foil a

Robbery than those who are completely taken by surprise.

Staff who deal with cash should be in an office that is well secured and not a gen eral thoroughfare for all other staff.

Casual employees should have Police clearance if this can be done. They should not have any dealings with cash or know where it is stored and how it is transferred to the bank.

Casual employees can present the most risk as they have the least to lose.

All staff should be told not to discuss the financial dealings of operations to any one outside the organisation. Sometimes the most innocent conversation can be overheard by those who wish to use it for criminal purposes.

Staff should be trained to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity or peo ple who may be watching the activities. All robbers must at some time have observed the activities of the staff to know when to rob the company.

Staff are a company’s greatest asset and have the greatest knowledge of a company and its activities.

6. Procedures

When dealing with cash a company should have clear procedures in place.

These must be explained to staff and mon itored to ensure they are being followed.

Procedures should be such that there is minimum risk to robbery while still getting the job done.

Certain procedures, while good for security, may not be practical and these have to be weighed up by Management.

Regular checks should be made to ensure that the procedures are being fol lowed. These are pointless if the staff do as they wish.

1. Neighbourhood Watch

(Nhw)

Small businesses and homes should be included in neighbourhood watch schemes.

If there are none in the area then consider ation should be given to starting one.

People should get involved in the com munity and their neighbours and only then will we see crime come back under con trol.

- The recommendations are taken from a security checklist that is provided to clients of Guardforce Fiji Ltd.