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4 Holiday Retail Loss Prevention Tips

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

4 Holiday Retail Loss Prevention TipsThe holiday season is the busiest and most profitable time of the year for retailers. It’s also a busy and profitable time for criminals.

Shoppers are flooding the malls, big box stores, and smaller neighborhood shops looking for just the right gifts for family and friends. With all the extra foot traffic, businesses must be extra vigilant, paying particular attention to thwarting shoplifters, which may include employees.

Here are four holidays loss prevention tips to help you protect your bottom line:

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Shoplifting Prevention Series: The Mindset of a Thief

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

american-alarm-shoplifting-preventionUnfortunately, shoplifting is often considered a necessary part of doing business for a retailer.

Earlier this year, three people – two from New York and one from Pennsylvania – were arrested for allegedly shoplifting $29,000 worth of fur coats and other clothing from a fur shop on Route 28 in Randolph, Mass.

Police also discovered that the suspects had a list of high-end clothing stores from Pennsylvania to Massachusetts, including stores in Boston and Quincy, according to the Patriot Ledger.

In addition to installing a business security system, understanding the different types of shoplifters – and the way they think – can go a long way toward helping you protect your company.

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Shoplifting Prevention Series: What Does a Thief Look Like?

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

american-alarm-shoplifting-preventionIf you’re a retailer looking into business security systems, you’re all too well aware that shoplifting costs your industry tens of billions of dollars every year – that’s millions every single day.

No retailer is immune. Shoplifters steal from all kinds of stores; big box stores, department stores, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, and even thrift shops. Worst of all, there is no profile of a typical shoplifter. They can be men or women and sometimes even kids. Shoplifters come in all shapes and sizes; rich or poor; young, old, or in between.

Of course one of the first steps to help control shoplifting in your establishment is to install a video surveillance system – however, it’s not possible to completely stop people from stealing from you. Luckily, there are ways to further protect your business if you know how to spot a shoplifter.

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Top Ten Ways to Prevent Shoplifting

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Shoplifting. It may seem like an innocent crime, but it’s costing retailers nearly 11 billion dollars in loss every year. Some of the most common items include clothing, books, music, jewelry, and pretty much anything you can fit in your pocket or purse.

A good video surveillance system can help identify and prosecute a suspect after a theft occurs — but, wouldn’t you like to stop it from happening altogether?

In this video, American Alarm Blogging Team’s Sunny Gault will give you the top 10 ways to help you prevent shoplifting.

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5 Tips to Protect Your Pet in Emergencies

/2 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging Team

American Alarm - 5 Tips to Protect Your Pet in EmergenciesAs a leading provider of home alarm systems, we’ve written a lot about things you can do to ensure the safety and security anyone living with you – and, of course, yourself. Everything we do is focused on helping you protect your family and your home in the event of an emergency or natural disaster — but what about your furry, four-legged family members? Don’t forget to take them into consideration when you develop your family’s emergency preparedness plan.

We offer you five tips, some of which are courtesy of The Humane Society of The United States, to protect your pets in emergencies and natural disasters:

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Business Security Trends for 2014

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

american-alarm-business-security-trendsThe business security system market will show strong growth in 2014, driven by access management and video, according to James Cook, sales manager for American Alarm.

The Boston Marathon bombings demonstrated the importance of video cameras, as we mention in a recent blog post. Investigators used video from a number of businesses in the Copley Square area to identify Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who are suspected of the bombings.

The need to manage access to buildings via video surveillance systems and alarm systems that include enhanced access control is being driven in large part by the school shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut as well as other schools across the country, Cook says.

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Video Surveillance System Trends for 2014

/3 Comments/by American Alarm Blogging Team

Camera Video Record in the evening.Video surveillance systems are quickly becoming key components of both business and home security strategies — a trend that will expand into 2014.

For business owners, incorporating IP video surveillance into your business security system can play multiple roles when it comes to protecting your company’s assets.

With a high-quality business video surveillance system, you can see what’s happening inside your store at any given time, and trained personnel can keep and eye out for potential shoplifters. If you catch a criminal, your video surveillance system can give you evidence you need to hand over to police.

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’Tis the Season for Giving and . . . Taking

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

’Tis the Season for Giving and . . . TakingAfter scouring the Internet for months you’ve finally scored that hot – not to mention super expensive – electronic gadget all the kids want this holiday season on Amazon. However, one look at your child’s face when he rips off the wrapping paper will make all your efforts worthwhile.

That is, if your package doesn’t get stolen before you even know it’s been delivered.

Here are some tips courtesy of the Boston Police Department to keep thieves from making off with the packages filled with the holiday goodies you buy online:

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Video Surveillance Cameras Keep An Eye On Safer Schools

/1 Comment/by American Alarm Blogging Team

school video surveillanceSchool security is a subject that strikes close to home for millions of Americans. Each and every day parents send their children to school hoping their experience isn’t interrupted by the kind of violence or chaos that all too often makes national headlines. It is more than just keeping an eye out for potentially tragic situations; it also means keeping the educational environment and students safe from the perils of theft, accidents, and harassment.

A significant portion of the effort to keep kids safe at school involves keeping a watchful eye all of the activities that take place on campus. Security systems that monitor a school’s entry points, the perimeter of its grounds, classrooms and other shared spaces are crucial in helping law enforcement and other emergency personnel respond quickly to an incident. It also allows for less obvious threats, such as patterns of theft or vandalism, to be dealt with using a firm chain of evidence.

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How to Protect your Business from Scrap Metal Theft

/by American Alarm Blogging Team

One of the fastest growing crimes in the United States is scrap metal theft. Thieves looking for a fast buck are stealing copper, aluminum, nickel, stainless steel and scrap iron from any number of businesses.

Business Security: Prevent Scrap Metal TheftFor example, in February a Nashua, New Hampshire man was charged with stealing a scrap-metal bin containing 20,000 pounds of scrap metal from a recycling company, according to an article in the New Hampshire Union Leader — and police believe the alleged thief is also involved with the thefts of scrap metal bins from other locations.

Even more recently, police in Charlton, Mass. arrested two men they allege stole scrap metal from a railroad year, according to the Telegram & Gazette.

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