The police are raising awareness around steps to reduce the chances of a theft of surveying equipment. They advise on secure storage and security marking of equipment with products that meet the Police Preferred Specification standard required by Secured by Design (SBD), the UK police crime prevention initiative.
When travelling and working on site:
– Pay attention to your surroundings – is anyone paying attention to you, your vehicle or your business premises?
– Is there anyone paying undue attention to your job location?
– Make a note of vehicle registrations and/or person descriptions.
– Be careful when setting up on site. Try not to set up where a vehicle or moped can pull up and snatch the device.
– Keep an eye on your equipment at all times. If possible work with another colleague present.
– If you need to stop your vehicle on your travels, ensure someone stays with the vehicle or try to keep it under close observation.
– When you are on site, stay with your equipment at all times – preferably no more than a few steps away.
– Use a locking device to secure your equipment on site.
– When storing a device in your vehicle, ensure it is out of sight and securely fixed within the vehicle.
– Ensure the device is forensically marked or tagged and fitted with a GPS tracker
– Any device fitted with a GPS tracker or forensically marked should be clearly labelled to show this to act as a further deterrent to thieves.
When storing your device consider:
– Devices should be locked in a standalone storage unit, within a secure room, on your premises. Standalone storage units should be to the standard of LPS 1175 SR2
– Or, secure with two points of locking to a Sold Secure Gold ground anchor and chain, within a secure room.
– Any secure room or store should be internal to the main building. Doors to the room should be to one of the following standards – LPS 1175 SR2 or STS 202 BR2. The walls around the storage must be robust & resistant to manual attack or damage.
Prevention
– Install a CCTV system. For advice and approved suppliers of CCTV visit the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) and the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB) websites.
For more on how to secure your equipment, and products that can be used to security mark it, visit the Secured by Design website www.securedbydesign.com.
