Overstretched police budgets mean businesses should act now to protect themselves

The police federation has warned that funding cuts are forcing the police to make drastic changes to the way it operates. Scotland Yard has said that by 2020 they must save £400m, with the current force of 30,300 down from 32,000 and predicted to fall even further, changes are having to be made to the way that crime is investigated.

Sara Thornton who acts as chair to the National Police Chiefs’ Council has said that “real changes” are required if the police are going to be able to continue to provide services to the public with shrinking budgets and a drop off in the number of available officers and that priorities may have to adjust.

“If we’re really serious about putting a lot of effort into protecting children, for example, it might mean if you’ve had a burglary, for example, and the burglar has fled, we won’t get there as quickly as we have in the past” she explained.

These changes spell worrying news for businesses as offences like shoplifting, burglary, car crime and criminal damage are moved down the pecking order in terms of seriousness of crimes.

Tony Tester, chairman of the Dorset Police Federation, said: “It’s not uncommon for my members to report coming into duty and finding 10-15 pages of open incidents.

That equates to 100-150 incidents that couldn’t be dealt with at the time but now need allocating, which is a worrying figure to businesses who may feel alarmed and vulnerable.

Act now to keep your business safe

Considering these latest figures and warnings, it is important that businesses are able to make their buildings and sites as secure as possible and as unattractive to criminals as possible.

Whether your business operates from commercial, industrial or retail premises, Gateway Automation provides a variety of security solutions and can provide you with a free, no obligation quotation and feasibility survey to assess your security requirements.

Alternatively, you can download a brochure here or for more advice on securing your businesses property from crime please contact us here.

Perimeter security for beginners

Perhaps your business has recently become a victim of physical crime, or maybe you are concerned that it may happen in the near future?

Whatever your motivation for wanting to improve security at your premises, there are lots of ways that you can do so. Here we will look at some of the most effective forms of perimeter security on the market today.

What is perimeter security?

For businesses in the UK, security should play a critical role in their activities. Whilst it’s easy to take a laid-back approach to your security protocol and think that it will never happen to you, in reality crime rates are on the rise with many businesses targeted with arson, trespass, criminal damage and burglary every year. So, it pays to be cautious.

Perimeter security is defined as a wide variety of tools, systems and approaches that come together to prevent unauthorised and unlawful access to your business premises. Let’s look at some of the most effective forms of perimeter security that we recommend here at Gateway Automation.

Risk Assessments

The number one place to start with perimeter security is to have a full risk assessment carried out. This way you can work out which parts of your site are potentially vulnerable and need to be protected and monitored. Many companies skip this part and end up wasting money on ineffective security systems.

Heavy duty gates

One common security tool that we advise businesses start with is a pair of heavy duty gates. Gates not only provide a practical tool in controlling or preventing pedestrian and vehicular access, but they also send out a strong signal to opportunistic criminals that your site is well fortified and not worth the time and effort it would take to break in and out again. We provide a wide range of Automatic, Bi-Folding, Cantilever and Manual swing gates.

Turnstile Security

Security doesn’t just mean locking the doors when you leave. A large amount of crime against businesses actually happens during daylight hours too. If you want to protect your building internally then you need to have good systems built-in to control access to purely authorised visitors only. Turnstiles provide a robust and secure method of controlling the entry and exit of employees and visitors to your site without the need for employing costly security or reception personnel.

Access Control Equipment

Another form of internal security that businesses should not overlook is that of access control equipment. Access control equipment can be added to doors with proximity devices, intercoms, keypads and even specialist fingerprint readers that limit access to whoever you decide. It can be tailored to lock down an entire site or simply specific areas that you want to keep safe.

Managing vehicular access

A key role that perimeter security plays beyond managing pedestrian traffic is that of preventing unwanted vehicles from entering your premises. Tools like security posts can be used which can be raised or lowered from the ground at specific times of the day, speed ramps can be used to reduce the speed of vehicles, flow control plates can guide traffic in specific directions and automatic rising kerbs can provide a heavy-duty ‘door stop’ to shut off access to car parks, loading bays and other restricted areas upon demand.

Barriers are also a commonly used tool to protect commercial sites and come in a range of styles from automatic barriers that can be controlled by security guards, CCTV, proximity cards, push buttons and tokens, to height restrictor barriers used to prevent large vehicles from illegally entering warehouses, garages and buildings to manual barriers which can be physically fixed in place upon demand.

Get in touch

Arranging effective perimeter security is not something that you should go at alone. No matter the size or nature of your businesses, we can provide you with a free, no-obligation quotation and feasibility survey to assess the security requirements of your organisation. For more information on any of the security options above, or for further advice on how to protect your business premises from criminals, please contact us here or call us on 01522 682 255.