Business Christmas security advice

Make santa your only midnight visitor this year

Police are urging businesses to deny thieves the opportunity of picking up easy presents this Christmas by following some simple business security advice.

Peter Guillaume, Business Crime Reduction Manager at Warwickshire Police said

“In the excitement of packing up and finishing for Christmas some basic procedures get overlooked and each year and when we come back to work after the Christmas break we find businesses reporting crimes to us that could have been avoided.

"We are urging businesses to deny thieves the opportunity by not cutting corners in security in the rush to get away. To help businesses organise themselves at a very busy time, we’ve put together a Business Security Checklist. We would also like to wish businesses a happy and prosperous New Year."

• When you shut down for Christmas lock away everything you can
• Leave no cash on the premises
• Leave till drawers open or remove them
• Close and lock internal and external doors
• Remove spare door keys from the premises or lock them away securely
• Check all windows are closed and valuable property is screened
• Park vehicles inside your premises if possible
• Remove vehicle keys from the premises or lock them away securely
• Cancel deliveries that may come during the holiday period
• Do you need someone to call in and move your post?
• Ensure you leave no rubbish outside your premises that can be used to start fires
• Remove anything outside that might help a criminal to break in
• Ensure your key holder list with Central Stations and Police Safe is up to date
• Ensure you have updated your internal key holder and call out lists
• Back up all your computer systems and store a copy of your data off premises
• When you return after Christmas ensure your computer virus software is updated before downloading email or using the Internet

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION

"I am going to make all these crime prevention measures part of my normal working practices."

Warwickshire Police Advice to Businesses over Christmas Period tick sheet