Business Watch

Our neighborhoods should be safe, secure, and enjoyable places for all.  For those who own and operate businesses in our neighborhoods, the SSCPC suggests the following basic safety tips (also found by following this link to unlimitedsecurity.net/business-safety-tips):

• Leave cash registers empty and open after hours to deter burglars.

• Make sure all exterior doors have adequate locking mechanisms, or install a secondary lock such as deadbolt locks.
• Leave on an interior light in both your home and your office at night.
• Check the exterior for possible access to the roof and secure all ladders and garbage dumpsters.
• Use exterior lighting to increase the visibility in parking lots and entrances.
• Move valuable merchandise away from the door or windows to prevent smash and grab thefts.
• Install a safe or strong security cabinet to store valuable documents or keys to your business.
• Install an annunciator on entrances to alert you that a customer has entered.
• Don’t tag your keys with the name of your business or home address. Change locks if keys are lost or not returned by a former employee. Mark keys with “do not duplicate” to prevent legitimate locksmiths from making copies without your knowledge.
• Don’t open the door until you’re ready to do business, and don’t count receipts until you lock up.
• Never resist an armed robber.
• Call 9-1-1 (24 hrs) for: all medical, fire, and police emergencies, and anytime you believe there is a need to send police, fire or medical personnel to the scene.
• Post local telephone numbers to report any incident that you believe should be reported to the Police Department but does not require the dispatch of an officer.

Additionally, small businesses should form their own "safety trees" which utilize text messaging, e-mailing, or phone calling to alert other businesses in their vicinity of suspicious people, troubling circumstances, and the like. 

Robert Moskowitz's web article "Keep Your Business Safe from Repeat Robberies" (found via a search at the quickbooks.intuit.com site) also offers handy guidelines.  Moskowitz suggests that business owners install angled mirrors so that the business staff behind a counter may be able to see "all areas" of the business.  He further suggests that business owners "post prominent signs saying that [the] business is being monitored (whether it is or not)" and that " 'minimum cash on hand' and 'no access' decals" be placed on cash registers. 

Along with steps to protect the people and physical property of a business, business owners must also take steps to ensure the safety of their computers and data as small businesses are also vulnerable to cyber-crime.  Many insurers suggest that businesses keep their anti-virus packages, operating systems, and web browsers current to help prevent malicious software attacks upon computer networks.