Retail Security Services

Table of Contents

Security is of great significance to all kinds of businesses, ranging from small retail stores to multi-site warehouse facilities.

Regardless of their size and type, they all face challenging security threats such as commercial burglaries, theft, intrusions, vandalism, and insider crime.

Retail stores are a particularly lucrative target for criminals, especially shoplifters, looking to find valuables to steal and sell further for some quick cash.

According to the 2020 retail crime survey, the total cost of crime to retailers was a staggering £2.2 billion with a 17% increase in incidents of theft and damage as compared to the previous year.

The impact that these crimes have on the retail industry is much more than just financial and includes property damage, lost time and productivity, and employee and customer dissatisfaction.

The security threats and the consequent losses faced by retailers, which are enough to put most of them out of business, need to be minimised through professional security solutions.

Let’s look at the most effective retail security services that help protect your business from crime and its awful consequences:

Criminals are opportunists who take advantage of every vulnerability they can find. They are also becoming smarter by the day and difficult to outsmart using basic security measures.

They are masters at stalking and casing a target and know how to snap locks without attracting any attention.

Therefore, to protect your valuable business from these conniving criminals, you must invest in reliable security systems that will not just keep you, your employees, and your customers safe, but also help your retail store grow.

The best retail security services include:

BURGLAR ALARM SERVICES FOR RETAIL SECURITY

Burglar alarms are a basic retail security system that works as an effective deterrent against burglaries and intrusions. They serve two basic purposes; alerting the people nearby of an intrusion and scaring away potential intruders.

The alarms work using a series of sensors that go off as soon as any suspicious activity is detected, and can be particularly useful for after-hours retail security.

They come equipped with different kinds of sensors – motion, glass-break, door and window, and shock sensors – and their placement plays a huge part in how well they work.

Since they are used to detect break-ins, it is advised to install them on all the entrances and exits while making sure that the sensor’s range isn’t blocked.

There are various types of burglar alarms to choose from for retail security, with each type differing in the level of alertness and control it provides.

Bells-only burglar alarms are the most basic type that makes a loud noise, sometimes accompanied by flashing lights, to alert the people nearby of the intrusion. These are unmonitored systems that are best used for smaller, lower-risk retail stores without a significant amount of valuable content to protect.
Dialler burglar alarms offer a higher level of response guarantee than bells-only systems since, in addition to sounding a loud alarm, they automatically contact the retail store owners, managers, or whoever’s nominated to be contacted in the event of an alarm trigger.
Smart burglar alarms use an app on your smartphone or tablet to send you instant notifications whenever any suspicious activity is detected. They also allow you to remotely control the system from your phone and connect all compatible devices including security cameras, lights, and other sensors.
Monitored burglar alarms offer the highest level of protection and are connected to an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) where the alarms are first verified and, depending on the type of contract – keyholder or police response – the relevant people or authorities are contacted right away.

CCTV SERVICES FOR RETAIL SECURITY

Video surveillance is a powerful tool allowing countless individuals and businesses to monitor multiple areas of their property at once.

CCTV cameras are widely used in the retail sector and all for good reason – they are considered one of the most effective deterrents against shoplifting, intrusions, and burglaries.

Shoplifting is cited as a major concern for most retail store owners and is usually made possible due to sheer oversight from the people in charge.

For obvious reasons and the way that retail stores are built with aisles and counters, it becomes difficult to keep an eye on every inch of the shop and every customer.

Instead of manning every nook and cranny of your store, which can be expensive, investing in CCTV cameras for uninterrupted monitoring is a great solution for minimising not just external security risks but also internal threats.

Strategically placed CCTV cameras are highly effective at deterring anyone planning to carry out a crime owing to the fear of being watched, recorded, and possibly caught.

The systems aren’t just effective in deterring crime but are also extremely useful if one is committed. The recorded footage acts as useful evidence and can help easily identify the perpetrators and aid law enforcement agencies in catching them faster.

In addition to keeping an eye on external threats, CCTV monitoring also allows retail store owners and managers to keep an eye on their employees to monitor their performance.

There are various types of CCTV cameras to use for retail security. They are:

Bullet CCTV cameras
Dome CCTV cameras
C-Mount CCTV cameras
PTZ Pan/Tilt/Zoom cameras
Day/Night CCTV cameras
Infrared/night vision CCTV cameras
Network/IP CCTV cameras
Wireless CCTV cameras
High Definition (HD) CCTV cameras

When choosing the best CCTV camera for your retail store, you need to consider a few things that include the camera’s resolution, its field of view, remote monitoring, power supply, battery, and your budget.

Adding a professional monitoring service to your CCTV system offers an extra layer of protection knowing that your shop is being watched by security professionals 24/7, keeping it safe from all kinds of threats.

It works by transmitting the security footage to a remote monitoring station via the internet, where the threat is manually assessed by trained professionals who inform the relevant people and authorities if needed.

The real advantage of detecting a break-in while it is in progress is the action that can be taken to deal with it such as notifying the owners, keyholders, or alerting the police.

CCTV LAWS FOR RETAIL SECURITY

CCTV surveillance remains a controversial topic despite its numerous advantages to business security, with the main issue being privacy concerns and misuse of the cameras.

While all businesses are encouraged to use CCTV cameras for security purposes, there is a very strict code of practice that must be followed to ensure they stay compliant with the law.

According to the Data Protection Laws and code of practice issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), as a retail store owner, you must have a legitimate reason for using CCTV cameras on your premises and must ensure the safety of the recorded data.

Special care must be taken to not infringe on other people’s privacy, such as not installing them in fitting rooms, and to inform everyone in the area that they are being recorded, which can best be achieved by putting up clear signage or communicating with the people involved.

CCTV laws for businesses are taken very seriously with the consequences of breaking them leading to criminal charges and the owners facing huge fines of up to £500,000.

In addition to jail time and fines, shop owners might risk losing customer and employee trust since using recording equipment without their knowledge is a serious invasion of privacy.

ACCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR RETAIL SECURITY

Access control systems are automatic keyless entry systems that don’t just make your retail outlet secure from unauthorised access but also makes life easier for you and your employees.

All retail stores have certain areas, such as the storeroom, warehouse, and main office, that only certain authorised employees are allowed to access.

Access control systems work using various authentication methods that not just allow access but also help restrict it.

There are various types of authentication methods that can be used and the type you choose depends on the level of security you require.

The most common ones are:

Access cards,
Access codes,
Proximity fobs,
Fingerprints,
Retina patterns,
Facial recognition,
Voice recognition, and
Smartphone authentication.

Access cards and codes are the most common ones found in a variety of businesses, and biometric and smartphone verification is also being widely adopted due to the high level of reliability and protection that they offer.

Since these systems are keyless, they eliminate the need for keys while also eliminating the drawbacks of having to use them.

Physical keys can be easily duplicated by anyone with bad intentions, especially disgruntled employees, risking the integrity of the locks and forcing you to either have them rekeyed or replaced entirely.

With access control, instead of having to change the keys or locks, which can be a cumbersome procedure, you can simply change the codes or cancel access permissions for certain users, which also comes in handy during employee turnover when the keys need to be returned.

In addition to assigning and revoking access privileges, access control systems also record and store information regarding anyone who accessed the area.

Whenever someone attempts to authenticate their credentials, the system logs in the entry with the time, location, and details of the person, along with any incorrect or forced attempts made.

This tracking feature can help retail store owners keep a check on when their employees enter and leave work, and also easily identify who had access to a certain area in case a crime has been committed.

For example, if an employee decides to misuse their access permissions and commit fraud or theft, you will be in a position to know exactly who did it using the recorded access history.

BUSINESS SAFE SERVICES FOR RETAIL SECURITY

Every business has valuables it needs to protect and can benefit from using security safes to keep them protected from falling into the wrong hands.

Business safes, also called commercial safes, are secure boxes that can be used to lock up valuable items that the business owns. They ensure that the contents remain protected from threats such as theft, fire, floods, and other disasters.

There are many different types of safes used to store various items, and they all differ in their size and level of protection that they offer. The most common ones include office safes, deposit safes, data safes, vaults, and smart safes.

Deposit safes, also called commercial drop safes, are particularly useful for retail stores in safeguarding cash and important documents from both external threats, as well as internal employee theft.

They are used to temporarily store items until they can be transferred to a bigger, more secure safe, and are mostly found in retail stores where deposits are made at regular intervals.

They normally have a slot, either on the top or front, depending on the size of the safe, that allows employees to make deposits into them without even having to open them.

This not only helps keep the deposits private and safe from outside threats but also restricts employees from being able to see or steal whatever’s inside.

Only authorised people, most likely the store owners and managers, have the keys or security codes to access the contents of the safe.

Drop safes are virtually impenetrable and are usually bolted to the floor or wall making it impossible to be stolen quickly and without creating a commotion.

Smaller versions may be installed with each cash register for the cashier to deposit the amount as soon as it is received, and bigger ones may be installed inside the store owner or managers office.

Smart safes are a high-tech secure device that uses advanced intelligence to automatically accept, validate, track, record, and store cash, helping businesses with their cash security and management processes.

They’re called smart due to their ability to connect to the internet and other cash management technologies to provide real-time visibility of their contents.

All kinds of businesses can greatly benefit from the use of smart safes and they are especially gaining popularity with retailers since they minimise the risk of counter theft and help detect counterfeit notes.

KEYHOLDING SERVICES FOR RETAIL SECURITY

Keyholding is a specialist retail security service, sometimes as an add-on to professional monitoring services, where an SIA approved security guard is given a spare key or access privileges to your property to be used in the event of a security breach or alarm trigger.

Responding to security issues is a huge responsibility which is best left to the professionals who are trained to deal with such threats.

It is not just a safer approach instead of relying on your employees to respond to alarm alerts, but it is also extremely reliable and guarantees a response.

Alarm triggers late at night could be a massive inconvenience which may turn out to be false alarms and might be ignored by irresponsible employees.

With professional keyholding services, trained guards are always available to personally check out the premises, conduct a thorough survey of the site, both inside and out, and also deal with securing the site following an intrusion including basic fault repairs, changing the locks, and resetting the alarm.

CONTACT CALDER SECURITY

We are professionals working in the security industry for over 40 years and our vast experience enables us to understand the various needs and requirements of different types of properties including retail stores.

We provide a comprehensive security solution that includes not just professional installation of security systems but also their monitoring, maintenance, and repair.

We are SSAIB approved installers and follow all the best practices in the industry. We do not compromise on quality and install only high-quality, state-of-the-art security equipment.

We offer various levels of monitoring via a 24-hour monitoring centre using Dualcom and BT Redcare signalling, which is the most secure alarm monitoring system and the largest supplier of intelligent alarm signalling services in the UK.

We understand the importance of having to regularly maintain security systems since the inability to do so might result in serious faults and consequent vulnerabilities.

We provide professional maintenance checks and reminders for when the checks are due to help you stay compliant with the law, and work fast to restore your security systems to excellent condition.

We also have the resources and capability to manage national contracts for multi-site companies and can offer all of the following services throughout the UK as part of a national contract:

Intruder and burglar alarm systems
CCTV systems
Fire alarms
Door entry/Access control systems
Locksmiths services
Safe and vault engineering
24-Hour monitoring

Photo by Jozsef Hocza on Unsplash

Retail Security Services – How to protect your business