Tips for Keeping Your Birmingham Business Secure

Did you know that Birmingham has a higher crime rate than London? It also experiences more crime than average over the whole of the West Midlands. If you run a business in Birmingham and are worried about the high levels of crime in your area, you might want to consider putting some preventative measures in place.

From CCTV camera surveillance to on-site security guards, read on to discover 6 top tips for keeping your Birmingham business safe and secure around the clock.

Carry out a risk assessment

If you don’t want to become another statistic, then you need to make sure you carry out a risk assessment. This involves identifying any weak points in your business or your current security strategy. Once you have established any areas that make you more susceptible to crime, you can then take the necessary steps to fix them.

You should aim to carry out a risk assessment at least once every 6 months or more frequently if you operate within an area with high levels of crime.

Create a documented security plan

If you want to keep your business safe and secure, you need to ensure that everyone within your company is on the same page regarding security. Once you have decided what security measures to put in place, you should document these in a security plan that all necessary personnel can access. This way, even if some of your staff leave, the new members can quickly get to grips with how things run regarding security.

Some of the elements that you may want to include in your security plan include how you plan to secure your data, staff security training, and verification processes.

Secure the perimeter

When carrying out your risk assessment, you will quickly discover where your security efforts are lacking and where a thief or vandal could take advantage of this. There are several security solutions that you can use to help secure the perimeter of your business, including fencing, security lights, deterrent warning signs, and visible alarm systems. You may also want to think about investing in security guards in Birmingham, especially if you have already been a victim of a crime or you are experiencing a lot of shoplifting.

Do full background checks on staff members

Although you may not like to think that your employees would steal from you or help criminals to access your business, this type of in-house crime is actually a lot more common than you might think. To prevent a member of staff from taking advantage of you, always carry out full background checks on new employees. It can also be beneficial to change door codes and alarms regularly and make sure that only a limited number of staff have access to this information.

Protect your business from cyber-crime

Cybercrime is on the rise worldwide, with not only large corporations at risk but small businesses too. In fact, a large majority of small companies affected by cybercrime never recover from the expense and loss of business.

You can take several steps to protect your business from cyber-criminals, such as training your staff to recognize the most common cyber threats and investing in high-quality antivirus and firewall technology. You must also make sure that you regularly back up all your devices so that you can quickly and easily recover any lost data and ensure that all company passwords are strong and frequently changed.

Be vocal about your security efforts

You can never be too vigilant when it comes to securing your business, so don’t shy away from putting up warning signs and other deterrents. Make it clear that you are serious about security and that any thieves or vandals will be caught and prosecuted. The more vocal you are about your security measures, the less likely you are to be targeted.

Although you may think that on-site security guards are out of your budget and you would prefer to spend any spare cash elsewhere, they can dramatically reduce crime against your business and act as a highly effective deterrent.

The bottom line

If you don’t want to put your business at risk of crime, then you need to take action sooner rather than later. Criminals and cyber-criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, meaning you need to up your security efforts to ensure they do not target your business.

By putting the above security measures in place and making sure that you and your employees are informed and vigilant, you can keep your business safe and prevent it from becoming just another statistic.