What kind of impact does a burglary have on a business?

A recent study by Victim Support showed that half of all business owners in the UK had been targeted by burglary, vandalism or other types of crime. Many of these business owners are targeted more than once and the damage can often go beyond just broken windows and locks.

The financial impact
The financial cost is one of the most obvious but also most alarming aspects of a burglary. When a criminal breaks in to a commercial property, they will likely cause lots of damage as they make their way in, smashing windows and doors, or causing damage to internal features, such as by ripping a safe from the wall. The cost of replacing windows, doors, locks and other damages can be very expensive and unfortunately you may find that your insurance does not cover it all. However, every day that you remain closed you are losing money so it is important to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible. Depending on the nature of your business there may also be damage to your reputation, especially if sensitive data or items that belonged to someone else were stolen.

The emotional impact
A burglary can be very traumatic for everyone in your business. As the owner of the business you may feel very shaken and disturbed by the incident. Many business owners say that a burglary feels like a very personal attack.

Your employees may also share your feelings and concerns. If they spend lots of time in the building then they may well feel unsettled for a period of time, especially as many businesses are burgled multiple times. So it’s important that action is taken following a break in.

In order to develop a comprehensive strategy for warning off burglars, you should have a risk assessment of your premises. This will highlight any weaknesses and provide you with recommendations of ways to improve your security and avoid repeating the distress that comes with a burglary.

Here at Gateway Automation we provide free, no-obligation quotations and feasibility surveys in order to find the best solution to security needs. For more information please visit our website http://www.gatewayautomation.co.uk/ or call us on 01522 682 255.