Police are urging local businesses – small, medium and large – to guard against burglars this month. The West Midlands force says that August has been highlighted in previous years as showing an increase in the number of reports of businesses being burgled, prompting police to issue the security reminder.
To help address the risk of a rise in offences, the force has refreshed its business crime advice centre at www.west-midlands.police.uk/businesscrime, to incorporate all latest guidance from its in-house crime prevention design advisers.
The advice centre is themed around protection, with four areas centred on specific themes – protect your staff, protect your assets, protect your premises and protect your perimeter.
A fifth area extends to advice on what to do if the worst happens and you become a victim – including keeping customers and any witnesses on the premises and preserving evidence.
A new signposting portal provides access to a wealth of professional tips, training and products available from independent and government security figures in the UK.
Mark Silvester, from West Midlands Police’s central crime reduction team, says: “The idea behind the advice centre is to provide business owners and managers with the tools they need to protect their business from would-be burglars, thieves and robbers.”
The tips from the WMP website will be further condensed into a series of 30-second video clips later in the month, filmed in partnership with a well-known national fashion and homeware brand.
Mark adds: “We want to empower businesses to train their staff by making best use of our revamped website and video series – together taking responsibility for becoming more security savvy and ultimately beating the burglar.”
Visit www.west-midlands.police.uk/businesscrime
