3 Reasons You Should Get Proactive with Security Before the Holiday Shopping Season
Gone are the days of preprogramming lights to come on at a specific time, or having the neighbor keep an eye out on your property when going on vacation is enough. What happens to all those packages left on your doorstep when you are not at home?
What about businesses? While cybersecurity seems to be top of mind during the holiday season, surveillance and controlling access to your business space is equally important.
It’s time to get proactive with security measures before the holiday shopping season begins.
1. Check Out Access Control Systems
The holiday season brings out the best and the worst in people. It’s a stressful time where being busy goes to a new level. While being busy is good for business, it is also a key reason why so many people take their eye off of the ball when it comes to security.
The presence of a full-time guard at the entrance and exit of a building is not enough. What about the door to the backroom accidentally left open (due to being busy), making it easy for anyone to enter and take stored merchandise, electronic devices, or anything else they can put their hands on. Access control becomes for your first line of defense against potential thieves and employee misconduct. Access control is not just about securing the outside of a building; its also about securing and limiting access to offices, backrooms, and areas containing sensitive information.
Not all theft is carried out by criminals external to an organization; theft also happens by those who work internally. Access control restricts unauthorized access and reduces employee theft because you get to control who has access to where and at what times.
Access control is an electronic visitor register where every access is logged and recorded. When an employee resigns or is fired, you can instantly cut off their access to the building. This eliminates keys from getting lost or copied by disgruntled employees and having to change all the locks if your business is compromised.
With access control systems, you can monitor exactly who entered the building at what time and on what day. This is not only helpful in uncovering a breach, but it also helps with employee health and safety in the event of workplace violence.
2. Install Video Surveillance
Security camera systems might not be top of your holiday wish list as they aren’t as exciting as the latest in tech or fancy toys – or are they?
CCTV and passive monitoring solutions are a common option for many municipalities, businesses, and law enforcement. With advanced facial recognition software and high-speed camera captures, video surveillance allows law enforcement and building operations personnel to protect their assets. Placing cameras in potential targets for a crime before the holiday season begins reduces the overall costs of prosecution.
Commercial surveillance and security systems are not just for businesses and government departments; gated residential areas increasingly adopt this technology to see who enters and leaves their community. One way to deter “Porch Pirates” from trying to enter into your community is through the installation of a surveillance system. This system allows you to see these pirates lurking around the gate entrance for an opportunity to get in, resolve undelivered disputes and with a camera pointing right at them, they are more likely to keep moving.
3. Ramp Up Your Parking Access and Management System
Not all crimes take place within a building and even if they do, it’s too easy for criminals to quickly scamper out of a parking lot without proper access control.
Parking management is a high-tech industry, where customers are prepared to pay to park during the holidays rather than accept the frustration of long lines and inefficient processes. Think of parking access and management as more than just security, it can generate additional revenue and provide parking for your employees and customers when they need it.
In spite of the pandemic, most people will still venture out during the holiday season and order online, making all those packages sitting on your front doorstep way too enticing for sticky-fingered thieves who want access to your community. It’s time for you to get thinking about your security measures BEFORE the holiday season gets in full swing.
There’s no price for peace of mind. LATECH is the area expert at providing security systems suited to all needs and budgets. Call our team of security and surveillance professionals at 866-779-4897 or schedule a free consultation to get prepped for the holiday season!