For commercial businesses and industrial properties located in highly populated areas, loitering and vandalism is a huge concern. Not only is vandalism and loitering a safety concern for your products, equipment and employees, but it is also an annoyance and a bottom line expense you need to account for. In fact, vandalism expenses cost — on average — $3,370 per instance, which ends up being a significant chunk of change if your property is targeted multiple times throughout the year. At Morrill Electric, we can help you deter and reduce the instances of loitering and vandalism on your property with a few of these quick tips.
How To Deter Loitering And Vandalism
- Post Warning Signs. Staking the signs from your security provider in strategic places around your commercial property will help inform passerby and potential vandals that your building is monitored by a professional security company. We recommend placing these signs in visible areas near each entrance to the building as well as around the parking lot.
- Motion Censored Lighting. Morrill Electric can install motion-censored lighting systems throughout your property. These lights will turn on automatically whenever someone comes within a certain distance of the light. Our team of electricians recommend you place these motion censored lights at every entrance to your building. We can also install parking lot lighting that turns on automatically at dusk as well as turns on whenever someone enters the parking lot.
- Security Personnel. If your budget allows it, hiring a few security guards for your industrial or commercial space can bring a lot of peace of mind. Make sure these personnel conduct around-the-clock checks of the property and interior of the building throughout the night and any off-peak hours. This should include checking to ensure doors are locked and windows are closed as well as checking the parking lot.
- Security Cameras. Security cameras are one of the best ways to keep tabs on your commercial building and are a successful strategy to reducing or altogether eliminating vandalism. Morrill Electric can discuss with you the best video surveillance systems for your needs and your budget as we will work with you to determine the ideal places to install each camera. Entrances, loading docks, parking lots and walkways that pass near or on your property are the best spots for video camera systems. The best part about security cameras is that if vandalism does occur, you are more likely to catch the culprit with facial identification.
- Keep The Property Clean. Cleaning up any litter or garbage found on your property and keeping the lawn and gardens well manicured will often deter vandals. Just as cars with a lot of stuff inside are more readily broken into, so too are buildings whose exteriors are not well kept. Make sure you have a groundskeeper or professional landscaping company come in on a routine basis to keep the property clear of debris.
- Lock Doors, Windows & Gates. Whenever you leave the building for the day, always ensure that the doors are locked and bolted, windows are closed, and gates are secured. Morrill Electric can install institutional security doors which come equipped with keypads, card readers, and other authentication factors to keep your products and equipment safe.
- Vandal Resistant Materials. For your building’s exterior, you can opt for vandal resistant materials which make it more difficult for spray paint to stick to. These materials are easy to clean which reduces the cost of having to call a professional company to remove the tags. It can cost a company hundreds to remove spray paint from certain surface such as granite, brick and other stone.
Let our electricians help improve the safety and security of your commercial or industrial space. Contact Morrill Electric today to discuss your options to preventing loitering and vandalism.
