Keeping commercial properties safe from burglars is mostly a matter of making them look like they are more trouble than they are worth for thieves to break in. The easiest way to keep your property from looking like an easy target is to keep your doors and windows securely locked. However, there are other ways you can discourage intruders.
Preventative Measures
It won’t do much good to lock your doors and windows unless they are solid and perfectly secured. To this end, commercial properties such as sports halls, offices and hotels employ a variety of measures, which can all help to increase security.
Perhaps the most important thing that you could do to increase security is to replace any existing hollow-core outside doors with either steel doors or doors constructed from solid wood. Hollow-core doors are surprisingly easy to kick in, a method that is often used on commercial properties because they are generally isolated, with no neighbouring houses nearby.
In addition, deadbolts should ideally be fitted to all the doors. A deadbolt, or rackbolt, adds vital security to doors, making them harder to break down. It can be operated from inside with a key or by fitting thumb-turn knobs. Fortunately, deadbolts are also reasonably straightforward to install, requiring some simple drilling and screwing.
Light up the Exterior
Another effective device is to ensure your property is never left totally in the dark. Install lights at each side of the main entrance and wherever possible on all other entrances as well. Either you can leave them on all night or have them fitted with dusk-to-dawn light-sensitive bulbs. It is also a good idea to ask an electrician to install floodlights with motion sensing (PIR) detector switches, which will light up should anyone approach the property.
The Windows
In many cases, it is the windows that offer the best opportunity for burglars to gain access to your property. While of course you should ensure that all windows are closed when the building is not occupied, they should be fitted with security devices such as locks or locking handles. That way, even if a burglar were to break the glass, he would still not be able to open the windows.
Add key-operated locks to all the windows, including any that may be on the first, second or even third floor. Ensure the keys are kept close to hand so that you or your employees can escape in the case of an emergency, but of course, not where they can be reached through an open or broken window.
Daley is interested in all forms of security for the workplace, and knows that strong security doors and windows will go a long way to help commercial businesses be better protected against intruders and bad weather.