FEATURE
DOWN
THE
PROTECTION
TOOLS
ISSUE
SECURITY
FIRST
SO YOU REPLACE YOUR
PHONE EVERY COUPLE OF
YEARS, YOUR CAR MAYBE
EVERY FIVE. BUT HOW
OFTEN ARE THE SECURITY
SYSTEMS PROTECTING
YOU AND YOUR FAMILY,
YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR
CLIENTS UPGRADED?
nce every three minutes – that’s how
often a burglary is recorded in
Australia according to the Australian
Bureau of Statistics. When targeting a domestic
property, 75% of break-ins saw the burglar
enter the premises in less than five minutes and
quickly target ‘hot items’ – such as cash,
laptops, jewellery, cameras and phones – that
would be easy to dispose of or sell.
In the case of commercial break-ins,
significantly more planning takes place prior to
the event, which can see criminals arrive fully
O
40 GEMCELL.COM.AU AUG – SEPT 2019
equipped with power tools, flatbed trucks and
pallet jacks to target warehouses full of stock.
Suffice to say, there’s a level of sophistication
being displayed by today’s common criminal,
making it all the more important for you to
know the best ways to protect not only your
own property, but that of your domestic and
commercial clients, too.
SECURING YOUR ASSETS
A recent survey carried out in conjunction
with the Australian Institute of Criminology
revealed that 55% of people who had their
homes broken into didn’t have a security
system. However, 24.3% made the decision to
have one installed after the break-in.
“People need to protect themselves, and
their businesses, before they suffer the loss
– it’s always preferable to be prepared in
advance, rather than trying to put out the fire
once it’s started,” says Daniel Lewkovitz, a
security expert and CEO of Calamity
Monitoring, which looks after the security of
thousands of Australian businesses.
Identifying your business’s most sought-after
assets and ensuring they’re secure is a crucial
step in the preparation process.
“There are common themes that criminals
will look out for, and that all comes down to
businesses that have assets worth stealing,”
says Lewkovitz.
“That could be anything from raw materials
such as copper cabling, supplies, parts, tools
and anything that isn’t easily traceable and can
therefore be quickly resold.”
REVIEW YOUR RISK PROFILE
According to Lewkovitz, break-ins to industrial
and commercial office buildings tend to be
better planned and professionally executed,