As a business owner, preparing for the holidays requires more than planning festivities. The holiday season is a time when crime rates tend to increase. It’s crucial to consider how you’ll protect your property and its assets during this busy time of year.
Avoiding the following mistakes will help prevent external theft at your commercial property. Here are the top five mistakes to avoid:
1. Assuming Criminals Take the Holidays Off
Criminals don’t take the holidays off. Instead, they get to work. For example, according to a Verisk CargoNet analysis, cargo theft spikes in late December through early January. Holiday-related cargo theft that occurred from 2019 to 2024 led to a total loss of over $29 million. Warehouses and distribution centers were the most targeted locations.
Thieves know that businesses often reduce staffing and close during the holidays. Assets like high-value freight and heavy equipment may be left in unattended lots for days. Criminals use a wide variety of tactics to steal high-demand goods from poorly secured lots, including straight cargo theft. They then quickly sell stolen items on resale markets.
According to American Trucking Associations, many crime groups operate online marketplaces that appear legitimate to sell stolen goods. These items are often exported out of the country and, sometimes, sold for a higher market value.
When managers assume that criminals aren’t planning an attack during the holidays, they put their facility at risk. They must be aware of the methods that thieves use to exploit vulnerabilities during busy seasons. Remaining vigilant and implementing a proactive, multi-layered approach to physical security is the most effective way to protect unattended assets year-round.
2. Neglecting the Property’s Perimeter
Business owners might think that a chain-link fence and a locked gate are enough to keep criminals out. While a chain-link fence or basic padlock might slow someone down, they won’t stop an intruder completely. Determined thieves can easily cut through a regular fence with basic tools. Criminals can also break standard padlocks with a pair of bolt cutters or a battery-powered angle grinder.
Ignoring other aspects of the perimeter, like overgrown vegetation, also weakens security. Thieves can hide behind bushes or trees while they cut through a chain-link fence. Even vegetation that’s kept low to the ground can be problematic near the fence line. Criminals can still use it for coverage, cutting and digging their way under a regular fence to get in.
According to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles, your perimeter is your first and most critical line of defense. It’s worth investing in your perimeter to protect your property, particularly if you’re in a high-risk area.
3. Relying on Poorly Lit Yards and Inadequate Video Surveillance
When criminals see blind spots and a lack of cameras, they realize they might not get caught. Thieves know they have more time to steal in the dark with days being shorter during the winter months. Meanwhile, a lack of video surveillance means there’s no evidence of crimes committed.
Thinking you don’t need lighting or a video surveillance system is a mistake. While cameras and lights aren’t enough to stop crime as stand-alone solutions, they’re important parts of multi-layered security. Lighting helps deter criminals because they don’t want to be seen. Video cameras capture a breach attempt and provide the necessary evidence for a fast response.
Depending on the risk level in your area, skipping remote monitoring capabilities might also be a mistake. Without monitoring, video cameras are simply forensic tools, meaning they help you investigate a crime after it’s done. Pairing cameras with 24/7 remote monitoring creates a proactive strategy. It ensures live footage of a crime attempt is sent to security professionals in real time so they can promptly respond.
Overall, your entire perimeter as well as entrances, exits, and pathways should be well-lit, with cameras that are strategically installed and positioned.
4. Making High-Value Assets an Easy Target
Leaving high-value assets easily accessible, such as near your chain-link fence, is a recipe for disaster. Criminals often scout yards before making a move, so they will notice easy-to-reach assets. Opportunistic thieves leverage assets near the fence, too. For example, they can use stacked pallets as a makeshift ladder. Smaller valuables, like tools, can be fished right through a chain-link fence.
It’s important to move valuable assets away from your fence line and access points before the holidays. You can then employ “target hardening” tactics, which means increasing the effort or risk to steal valuables. For example, you can place assets in the center of your yard to make them less enticing. Consider creating a barrier around expensive equipment using less valuable machinery. If possible, move equipment, materials, or other assets into a secure building.
While strategic asset placement is a smart move, it’s not a complete solution. Ultimately, you need a robust perimeter to keep thieves from reaching assets in the first place.
5. Forgetting to Account for Reduced Staffing
Business owners may not think about how reduced staffing during the holidays means reduced security. With fewer people on-site, suspicious activity is more likely to go unnoticed.
Additionally, employees might be more distracted during the holidays and less vigilant about security measures. They might forget to lock gates or set alarms, for example, leaving your property more vulnerable.
Sophisticated criminals know how to take advantage of reduced staffing levels. For example, they might impersonate a driver from a legitimate company to make it through the gate and steal cargo. They know staff may be distracted or less likely to challenge them during the chaotic holiday season, giving them more confidence to execute their plan.
Meet with your employees before the holidays to bring awareness to your facility’s unique security risks. Emphasize the importance of ensuring all security tasks are completed before they head home.
Implement Proactive Security to Prepare for the Holidays and Beyond
A single security measure is not enough to prevent theft during the holiday season or any time of year. A truly secure site has multiple security layers working together. These layers allow you to deter criminals, detect breach attempts, and facilitate a fast response.
Implement the five D’s of perimeter security to stop crime at different stages using various layers. Here’s how it works:
1. Deter
Deterrence prevents criminals from attempting a breach and prompts them to look for an easier target elsewhere.
A deterrent is psychological, meaning it increases the would-be intruder’s perception of risk. For example, electric fencing is an imposing barrier for your site or facility, visually deterring thieves. Seeing an electric fence with bright yellow warning signs often makes criminals turn around and take off.
Deterrence can also be physical. An electric fence physically keeps criminals off your property. Enhancements like lay-down fencing physically prevent would-be intruders from digging under your fence.
2. Detect
If a criminal tries to breach your perimeter despite a robust deterrence layer, a second security layer kicks in. Solutions like video surveillance cameras record the breach attempt and supply the necessary evidence to dispatch law enforcement.
Lighting and alarms also play important roles in detection. For example, alarm-based lighting that integrates with an electric fence activates when the fence’s alarm is triggered. The integrated system also notifies security personnel of a breach attempt and ensures that criminals are visible on security cameras.
3. Deny
You’ll want to strictly control all entry points to make it as difficult as possible for thieves to get in. This includes implementing access control at your gates. Effective access control combines various measures, including motorized gates, surveillance cameras, credential readers, and remote monitoring. These components automate access control to reduce human error and ensure only authorized individuals enter your property.
4. Delay
A multi-layered security strategy is also designed to slow criminals down so security personnel and law enforcement have time to respond. In the event of a perimeter breach, there should be security solutions in place to delay the intruder’s progress. For example, building intrusion detection systems protect your on-site structures from unauthorized entry. Features like motion detectors and door contacts act as effective ways to delay any crimes in progress.
5. Defend
After criminal activity is detected, you need a way to respond promptly. With remote monitoring services, security professionals watch your property in real time around the clock and notify the authorities if there’s an attempted breach. As the property manager, you can also monitor your site from any internet-connected device.
A remote monitoring system is a network of security technologies that includes surveillance cameras and monitoring software. When combined with an electric fence, it creates a defense system that physically stops criminals while providing visual verification for a prompt police response.
Stop Holiday Crime Before It Happens With AMAROK
Security mistakes can lead to costly consequences, from increased insurance premiums to reputational damage. Don’t let common mistakes impact your business this holiday season.
Stop theft before it happens with AMAROK. We secure over 8,000 sites with our electric fencing solutions, providing peace of mind to commercial businesses across industries. Plus, AMAROK customers save $120,000 annually on average when they replace 24/7 security guards with our system.
Ready for perimeter security that never takes a day off? Contact us for a free threat assessment to get started.
