Reopening Your Business? Check Your Security.

Idling business owners are still awaiting the opportunity to reopen, both here in New England and across most of the country. When these businesses finally come back online, cash and inventory will be flowing again — enticing potential burglars.

Given all the other challenges businesses face, besides the lost time and revenue, protecting future revenue should be a priority. Now is a good time to think through the safety and security processes involved in ramping back up your business’ physical location. 

Being Prepared for New England Business

Even with COVID-19, crime in New England is still a factor for business owners and operators. This especially applies to those businesses that directly interact with the public, such as convenience or small retail stores. Earlier this month, thieves robbed a convenience store in Pelham, New Hampshire, says an article in the local media.

Another thief staged an armed robbery in a Seekonk, Massachusetts, convenience store last month. Fortunately, in both cases the crimes were recorded by surveillance footage to aid the pursuit of the culprits.

Preparing for Safety

Given all the variables involved with reopening, you’ll want to make sure your business location is as secure and risk-free as possible. (Here is a checklist for small business security, courtesy of the Bozeman, Montana, police department.) Among the things you’ll need to do as you ramp back up:

• If you have an electronic security infrastructure in place, you’ll want to make sure it’s fully operational, so testing is recommended.
• Take steps necessary to ensure your business location is as physically secure as possible. For instance, examine the door and window locks and make sure entrances are illuminated at night.
• It’s also possible that cyber criminals will make attempts to crack into your network remotely, now that you are open. So, as always, make sure your information technology assets are secured, and stay up to date with all your antivirus patches and the like.
• You may also want to rethink security procedures and how they fit in with social distancing and other new factors, like face masks.

Even if you have a basic alarm system in place, you might want to add an extra layer of protection for compliance and safety. Consider adding a video monitoring and surveillance system. This way, you can see what’s going on in your store at all times, and ensure everyone is following the rules and staying safe.

NEXT STEPS:

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