3 Ways to Reduce Vandalism and Associated Costs for Your Small Business

Small businesses face many threats on a daily basis. These threats can have a significant impact on your success, as they can detract from your profits and cause your business to struggle or even experience debt.

These threats can range from accidental damage caused to stock by customers (or more often, children of customers) to shoplifting or even burglary. But we won’t focus on these individual threats for now.

Instead, we’ll take a look at vandalism. Acts of vandalism aren’t uncommon and are experienced by many small businesses at some point or another.

Some can be aimless – people spray painting aimlessly on your premises and any other surface insight. Some can be more targeted – a disgruntled customer or someone from your personal life causing havoc.

Either way, vandalism can be expensive and highly inconvenient to put right. Jet washing, fixing broken windows, and other professional services don’t tend to come cheap.

When it comes to tackling vandalism, prevention is generally better than cure. So, take a moment to implement the changes below into your business’ operations and protocol and you can help to protect your small business at all times!

 

#1 Have Lighting Around Your Store

Criminals and vandals are less likely to damage your store if it’s well lit. Well-lit spaces aren’t exactly a discreet spot to commit a crime and there are more likely to be witnesses to their crime if they are easily visible.

Fit a bright light outside your storefront and any other areas you want to protect. This can be a streetlight like the one in this link here, or a motion sensor light that only turns on when someone passes your commercial premises.

 

#2 Install CCTV

It’s also a great idea to have CCTV fitted in your store.  This will help to significantly prevent acts of vandalism. This will help to significantly prevent acts of vandalism. Why?

Well, CCTV cameras are easily visible (and you can also put up signs stating that the premises are monitored by CCTV) and criminals and vandals are much less likely to carry out acts of vandalism if they know that they are being watched and recorded. This means fewer people will practice vandalism in the first place.

If anyone does go ahead and commit acts of vandalism, at least you will have footage of them doing so, which can be used to identify them and see justice served.

 

#3 Have Security Alarms Fitted

Often, people will break windows on commercial properties and then see an opportunity to steal items from inside. This results in further costs and losses for your business. So, have security alarms fitted.

These will be triggered if anyone enters your store and can cause perpetrators to flee before they can cause any further damage.

It’s a shame that we have to prepare ourselves for events and acts such as vandalism, but sadly, they’re a reality that needs to be prepared for and prevented wherever possible.

Hopefully, some of the above pieces of advice and recommendations will help you to protect your small business as best as possible!