With cargo, auto parts, and metal theft trending upward, perimeter security is essential for protecting business assets. Businesses commonly use standard chain-link fences to protect their properties from intruders because they’re viewed as the most inexpensive option. However, regular fences have many weaknesses as stand-alone security solutions and don’t offer the best defense against external theft.
To ensure reliable protection against crime and maximize your return on investment in perimeter security, it’s worth considering electric fence installation. Electric security fences are highly effective visual deterrents and formidable physical barriers with the potential to stop theft before it happens.
Understanding the Need for Fencing
Businesses across many industries have vehicles, trucks, heavy equipment, or inventory kept in their yards or lots, making them vulnerable to external theft. Consider that there were over a thousand reports of cargo theft in 2023, leading to nearly $700 million lost in stolen goods. Criminals are on the lookout for high-demand cargo, expensive metals, catalytic converters, CPC modules, and anything else that has high resale value.
Commercial and industrial businesses must protect their assets from thieves, and fencing systems are often a necessary measure in serving that goal. A reliable fence will:
- Deter intruders: Fences psychologically deter intruders, meaning they cause criminals to think twice about trespassing. They’re also designed to physically prevent entry. For example, electric fences deliver a safe but memorable pulsed shock to potential thieves if they attempt a breach.
- Reduce liability risk: Businesses often require fences to control access to their property, which can reduce on-site injuries and liability claims. For example, construction sites might fence off certain areas to prevent the public from wandering into a work zone and getting injured.
- Establish territoriality: According to the Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and Technology, fences help prevent crime by creating territoriality. Territoriality conveys stewardship of a place, deterring criminals by subtly warning them that the area is monitored, cared for, and protected.
- Provide peace of mind: You likely don’t want anyone who’s not an employee accessing certain areas of your property — for both their safety and the protection of your assets. Fences are vital to ensuring a secure workplace and providing peace of mind for employees, customers, and your community.
The Challenges of Chain-Link Fences
Chain-link fences typically consist of galvanized steel wires woven together to form a mesh. Although chain-link fences are made of durable materials, they aren’t sufficient as stand-alone security solutions due to the following reasons:
Easy to Breach
Regular chain-link fences are generally easy to cut through with the right tools, like bolt cutters, and they’re relatively easy to climb. Depending on the fence condition, criminals may also be able to slide beneath the mesh. Additionally, chain-link fences are difficult to repair once they’re damaged, which can create a weak point in your perimeter.
For the above reasons, businesses must pair chain-link fences with other deterrents or barriers to effectively protect their commercial property.
Higher Long-Term Costs
Since chain-link fences aren’t the most effective perimeter security option, they can lead to high costs related to theft and insurance premiums over the long run. Property owners might compensate for this shortcoming by adding video surveillance or hiring security guards to further protect their assets, but doing so offsets the initial savings of installing a chain-link fence.
Having a chain-link fence with security cameras doesn’t always stop theft, either. By the time security guards detect criminal activity, the damage may already be done. That’s why it’s essential to deter criminals from entering in the first place.
The Benefits of Electric Fencing
Electric fences consist of a few key components, including an energizer and conductive wire. The energizer is a device that generates medically safe, pulsed energy. The pulsed energy runs along steel wires that are kept taut by fence posts. If a criminal touches the wire, they’ll receive a safe but unforgettable shock.
As a whole, electric fences provide considerable security benefits, including:
Powerful Deterrent
Electric fences are highly effective visual deterrents, stopping criminals before they trespass on, steal, or damage property — partially thanks to their signage. Many state and local regulations, as well as industry guidelines, require electric fences to display eye-catching, universally acknowledged warning signs. Electric fence signage is often enough to scare intruders away.
If a criminal is determined to attempt a breach, even after noticing the warning signs, they’ll face another layer of defense — the electrified wire. If the visual deterrent isn’t enough to make criminals think twice, the fence offers a safe but memorable electric shock. Because the fence is fully monitored, it will go into alarm with extended contact. The alarm will alert the business and the authorities of the attempted breach before an intruder can even set foot on the property.
Cost-Effective Solution to Enhanced Security
A property owner can successfully protect their assets with an electric fence and reduce or eliminate the need to file theft-related insurance claims. Fewer insurance claims could mean lower premiums.
Businesses also don’t have to hire 24/7 security staff to guard their property when they have an electric fence, saving them thousands of dollars on labor-related expenses. For example, AMAROK security solutions have a record of decreasing on-site security guard expenses by $26,000 annually.
If you’re concerned about energy costs, know that electric fences can be designed with energy-efficient components and be part of your sustainability efforts. At AMAROK, we offer energizers powered by solar-charged batteries, allowing you to simultaneously protect your property and the environment.
Integrates Easily With Other Security Devices
Electric fences seamlessly integrate with other security devices to offer multiple layers of theft deterrence. For instance, you can connect your fence to a video surveillance solution or an alarm-based lighting system. You could also launch remote monitoring capabilities that keep you apprised of your property’s security at all times.
Electric Fences vs. Chain Link Fences — What’s Right for You?
Are you struggling to decide between an electric fence and a regular fence for your commercial property? The truth is you need both to comply with standards established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
The IEC requires that persons are protected from inadvertently contacting an electric fence with a separate barrier such as a chain-link fence. Some jurisdictions also require an additional physical barrier with electric fence installation.
That said, if you wish to successfully reduce, eliminate, or proactively address external theft, installing an electric fence system will yield better results than using a chain-link fence by itself.
Enhancing Your Perimeter Security With AMAROK
At AMAROK, we understand it takes a multilayered approach to achieve optimal security and peace of mind. We also know that security needs vary depending on location, industry, budget, and other factors. We’re a security-as-a-service provider, so we tailor our electric fence solutions to the customer’s needs and offer robust perimeter security under a fixed monthly subscription fee.
Our process begins with a free threat assessment to evaluate your susceptibility to crime. We’ll then collaborate with you to determine the security solution that best meets your needs.
Your subscription includes installation, permitting, maintenance, repairs, upgrades, and 24/7 customer support. Our electric fences are also backed by the AMAROK liability guarantee — so you don’t have to take responsibility for our fence’s safety.
If your business is consistently impacted by external theft, you can expect a dramatic decrease in crime as a result of our services. Our solutions prevent 99% of external theft for our customers after installation.
