Retail Burglary Prevention

Burglary represents almost 50% of all crime in the United States. Every retailer is vulnerable to some form of burglary.
Among break-ins, are the most common.
reported burglaries, stay-behinds, smash-and-grabs, and According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports, 73% of the reported burglaries involve forcible entry or "break-ins," in which a pry bar, screwdriver or some other type of instrument was used.
In the case of forced entry, doors, windows, roof hatches or vents are the entry points most favored by the burglar.
In smash and grab burglaries, the burglar will smash display windows with an object such as a brick or drive their vehicles directly through the front glass window or door. The thieves then grab all the merchandise they can and leave before the police have time to respond. This type of burglary can be prevented by coating the glass with a very strong glass film or glazing material.
In the same FBI report, 19% of the illegal entries were obtained without the use of force by picking the lock or using a master key. To prevent burglars from gaining entrance by using a company key, all keys should be kept under strict control. When an employee, who has had access to the keys leaves the company, the company should change all the locks.
A small number of retail burglaries involve "stay-behinds," in which a person will hide out in the store until everyone has left for the day. He will then break out of the store with the stolen merchandise. To prevent this type of burglary, retailers should take the time to check offices, store rooms, rest rooms, closets, dressing rooms, and display fixtures, before locking up for the day •
The following list of security precautions will help eliminate the chance of burglary in your business establishment:

• The front doors and windows should be made of break-resistant glass or coated with a strong polymer window glazing film.
• Remove merchandise from display windows when the store is closed.
• Connect the doors, windows, and roof hatches to the burgled alarm system. The interior alarm system should include motion detectors. The safe should be equipped with a proximity sensor. Ensure that the alarm system is monitor at all times.
• Use high-quality cores. are "pick-resistant" and have inter-changeable cores. Use double cylinder locks that require keys to open the lock from both sides.
• Place the pin hinges on the inside of the door and anchor them so the doors cannot be forced in or lifted out. Place bars across all vents and skylights to prevent illegal entry.
• Ensure that the interior of the store is visible from the parking lot, so that a passerby can see any unauthorized individuals moving about the store.
• Some lights should remain on after closing to highlight movement inside the store.
• Remove all cash from registers at night and leave the drawers open to prevent the burglar from damaging the register.
• Place your safe near the front of the store and out in the open where, if possible, it can be seen from the street.
• Keep the safe illuminated at all times.
• Perimeter landscaping should be designed to avoid casting shadows or creating a place for the burglar to hide.
• Adequate exterior lighting is a deterrent as well as a safety feature for potential customers.
• All office equipment should be marked with identification numbers.
• Make back-up copies of sensitive files and computer data and store them off-site.

There is no single solution to the problem of burglary. Every system and each element of that system must be tailored to the individual retail property. The retailer should deal with the problem of burglary as forcefully, economically, and energetically as possible.