Protecting your business from robbery
Keep it Simple. The Basics
Good security doesn’t have to cost a fortune, simple measures can be very effective. However, before looking at those measures, it is important that you conduct a risk assessment as required under Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
The HSE provide a useful document for reference which you may find helpful: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg423.pdf . In addition the HSE has provided examples of completed risk assessments for many retail environments. These are available at the following link. http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies/index.htm . Although robbery is only mentioned in a couple of examples it is a real threat to any retail business and should be addressed in any risk assessment.
When conducting a risk assessment there are some things that you should consider:
- Have your premises been targeted by robbers in the past 24 months?
- Have retailers in the vicinity of your premises been robbed?
- Do you hold stock that may attract offenders? (e.g. cigarettes, alcohol, jewellery etc?)
- Are you aware of robberies targeting your particular type of business?
Once you have identified your risk you need to ensure that you put the right measures in place to reduce that risk. Any measures that you take need to be communicated to staff so that they understand why the systems are there and how to use them. An important message for staff is that security is a part of their everyday responsibilities and that your security procedures and policies are as relevant and important as sales procedures.