Business Security: Another Break-In - Where do we start?

We are all familiar with the media reports of crime against business in our communities and can understand the reluctance for businesses to remain in operation as the loss through crime exceeds potential profit arising from continued business and they fight rising insurance costs, repair costs from crimes committed against their business, loss of income from stolen merchandise and loss of profit from their business that can affect their own, and families, well-being.

Business owners and their managers should not be living in an environment of fear, yet we live in a time where the balance of power is tilting towards criminals rather than law abiding citizens. Governments and Police have their hands tied, reducing their capacity to effectively address the problem of crime due to its inherent multitude of root causes such as social, mental, environmental and gang mentality issues that do not have simple solutions.

Businesses cannot continue business in the same way and expect different results. Business today must look at their business from a criminal’s viewpoint and identify vulnerabilities and, unfortunately in most cases, these vulnerabilities cannot be addressed by the business owner or retailer but also become the responsibility of property owners and Council.

Retailers continue practices that have been part of the industry for many years where marketing and promoting merchandise promotes sales and profit so we see large glass windows incorporated into building design to ensure the desired merchandise would be so inviting that shoppers will enter the store to either buy the merchandise on show or browse and shop, thus ensuring sales and eventual profit for the store.

In our current environment, such displays encourage offenders to break-in and steal merchandise and glass windows are not created to stop a determined attack. Why then, do we see retailers replacing vulnerable glass with identical products, yet expect a different outcome?  We need to start hardening business as part of a crime prevention strategy.  We cannot stop crime, but we can reduce opportunity and desire due to the increased risk of getting caught. Business and retailers must start seeing security as an enabler, not a cost to business. It’s time to shine the light on security and crime prevention.

True security for businesses relies on principles that have been in place for many decades and used from the earliest times of humans seeking protection from the elements, animals and enemies.  The principle is that of ‘Defence-in Depth’ or for business ‘Security-in-Depth’.

This principle relies of a series of ‘layers of barriers’ that protect that which is desired to be protected. It could be a person, secret information, IT systems, high value merchandise, a factory or business. These layers are mutually supporting, and each rely on each other. Many crime prevention methodologies also incorporate the principle without directly referring to it. The principle of ‘Security-in Depth’ incorporates:

·        Deterrence,

·        Detection,

·        Delaying, and

·        Response.

When we look at a typical retailer today, we see a premise that may have some small security signage on windows or the entry doors, have deadlocks installed on entry doors and emergency lighting required under Fire Regulations but the major investment on security is done within the shop itself, with electronic article surveillance, intruder alarm systems and possibly CCTV.  The error in this is that offenders are already inside, and any response is post damage and theft.  The store suffers a loss through the damage committed and its capacity to recover and continue business relies on their insurance company and local business support in undertaking repairs and insurance covering the repairs and restocking quickly.

Once an offender is inside a retail store or any other business, it is too late; your physical security has not protected your business and you will suffer a loss.

Fortunately, ‘Security-in-Depth’ is scalable from the very small to the very large.  As such, it is not something that can only be implemented by large enterprises.  Very affordable and effective options are available for small business however as many businesses do not own the premises that they operate in or the land outside the premises, they are limited as to what they can do, individually, and must have support from building owners and local Council.

Security-in-Depth must start at the outside perimeter of the asset to be protected and have layers of barriers that deter and delay any attack, allowing time for response. The traditional castle, pictured here, is a good example of this.

For a multi-occupancy shopping centre, the first layer of security may be the public area between the carpark and the building perimeter.  

For others where underground car-parking is in place or the premises faces a public street, the first line of defence will be on the footpath and around the building perimeter with a fence line at the sides and rear and vehicle barriers installed away from the building perimeter, on the sidewalk, at the front of the premises.  This will require local Councils to become part of the solution in identifying suitable barriers that do not detract from the environment yet deter or reduce the impact of any vehicle impact against the building structure and deter ram raiding.

Using both manpower security and technical solutions, a perimeter can be made safer, however the use of security manpower to provide patrols and response can add up to quite a considerable sum, so businesses must look at the return on investment for any solution. Ask yourself this question: How much can I, as a business, afford to lose before security costs become a business enabler and be seen as part of the cost of doing business?  


When looking at security-in-depth, using a range of security technology will assist in bringing together the layers of physical barriers by providing detection and reporting.  The technology includes:

• Intruder alarm systems,
• Intruder detection detectors (motion detectors, glass breakage etc),
• Digital CCTV systems (good quality Digital Video Recorder and high-quality CCTV cameras),
• Security lighting,
• Security film or steel security screening for glazed areas,
• Physical security hardware for doors and shutters.

The effectiveness of this technology can be further supported by private security services, security alarm monitoring centres and Police.

Businesses must ensure that all perimeter areas of the premises are protected. Hardening the front and leaving the delivery dock vulnerable is poor risk management. Layer any physical security around the premises to deter and delay any offender from continuing an attack on the premises. Keep in mind ram raiding when assessing risk as this will require vehicle mitigation strategies to be installed in areas that may be controlled by local Council.

Use of security technology can assist protection through the installation of security lighting around the building perimeter along with suitably installed CCTV cameras that have motion detection capability.  This provides you the second line of defence, providing detection and reporting to a security alarm monitoring centre that has the capacity to link in to the business CCTV system and get a positive record of an intruder, to inform police of a credible offence in progress. Modern CCTV systems that incorporate artificial intelligence can provide an automated CCTV system that can greatly improve protection.

The perimeter of the building structure will be the next layer of security and it should be designed to provide delay, through a series of physical barriers and detectors.  Use of steel shutters or roller doors that are securely locked down using floor anchors or other high security locks, with intruder alarm detectors installed on shutters and doors to alert a monitoring centre of a potential attack is effective although may not be aesthetically pleasing.   The entry doors should be also protected with a steel shutter or roller door anchored down to prevent attack by hand operated tools or lifted using car jacks and have detectors installed on the shutters or roller doors to alert security alarm monitoring centres to an attack in progress.

Glass windows can be hardened by installing impact resistant film and further protected by steel security screening, based on the results of the risk assessment undertaken on the business. Glass breakage detectors are also a useful tool to install on glass windows.  Linked to the intruder alarm system they will alert a monitoring centre to a continued attack on the premises, that can be passed on to Police or a responding security force.

For those who are in high risk areas with continual break-ins, installing attack resistant glazing would be recommended. Attack resistant glazing combines laminates with glass to maintain the existent appearance of normal glass but meets Australian Standard AS/NZ 2208:1996 - Safety glazing materials in buildings and AS3555.1 (2003) Building elements - Testing and rating for intruder resistance. 

A number of companies in Australia can supply attack resistant glazing that is constructed to ensure attack weapons simply bounce off, making penetration all but impossible with glazing designed to meet the Australian Standards, to protect against sledgehammers, axes, crowbars, picks, chisels and bolt cutters; giving 30 minutes of intruder resistance thus providing adequate time for response.

Internal motion detectors may be installed to provide final alert that intruders have breached the outer perimeter of the premises and are now inside the building. If the outer layers of security are effective, these detectors should not activate.  If they do, there is a gap in your outer defences and this gap may be response.

Security-in-Depth is not effective without all parts working together and, in many cases, it is the response that is the weak point of this system. Physical security measures are not designed to prevent entry into premises but are designed to delay any such entry, giving sufficient time for response by Police or a contracted security service. Of course, any delay encourages offenders to move on as the risk of being caught in the act would outweigh the benefit of continuing an attack on the premises.

A good quality lock or security door may give 20 minutes delay against common simple hand tools and improvised weapons (barring ram raids), which is the window of time in which offenders can be apprehended or scared away by responding Police or contracted security services.  The recommended window of time for any response is 15 minutes, with 10 minutes being great. This reduces the time offenders have to physically attack the building perimeter and reduces repair costs as no entry will be gained due to intervention.

By layering physical security utilising Security-in-Depth, with all elements in place and operating effectively, businesses will have the best chance of surviving an afterhours attack on their business.

The cost and implementation of having an effective crime prevention physical security barrier for a business must be borne by the business owner, the property owner, local Council and the Government (once again a layered approach). Taking short cuts, accepting or ignoring the risks is playing into the hands of criminals, who are out to benefit from your hard work and investment. It’s your business but your employees and the shopping public share the effects of crime against your business and crimes against your business can have a flow-on effect to the local and national economy.

Good business security doesn’t need the guards and gates mentality of the past. Business security in this modern age encompasses a wide range of business practices and new technology that not only protect the business building and stock but protects its reputation, its people, its information and its very existence as an on-going entity. The modern security mentality is that of resilience and risk management, with physical security mitigation strategies designed to deter, deny, delay and respond to events that allows a business to recover quickly and bounce back from the adverse event.

Design your security well and it will pay off in reducing the impact of crime in your area.