Experiencing a break-in at your office can be a traumatizing experience. Realizing that your current security measures aren’t enough to prevent criminals from entering your property is a harsh reality to accept. Nevertheless, you must maintain your calmness and composure to assess the situation and make the appropriate adjustments after this disaster.
What you should do after experiencing a break-in at the office
Keeping your office spaces safe is a crucial part of running a secure and productive environment. The threat of a break-in can be damaging to your staff’s morale and productivity, which is why you should take your current situation seriously. Although you can’t do anything about the past, it’s your responsibility to be reliable from here on.
If it’s your first time experiencing a break-in, here are five steps you should follow:
Notify authorities
Before you inspect your property, it’s best to call the police immediately. If you’re receiving an alarm notification at night, it may be safe to contact the police even if you’re not on site. Remember to stay away from the building if there are clear signs of a break-in. If the burglar is still inside, you risk endangering yourself and complicating the situation. If you have any co-workers who are supposed to be at your office, try to reach out to them discreetly so that they can stay safe and away from harm.
Make a thorough inspection of your property
After allowing authorities to go over your premises, you will be able to enter it after ensuring that burglars are no longer a threat. Once you’re inside, make a list of the damaged or stolen goods to see how much you’ll need to shell out to replace them. If you have any broken or damaged devices, try to check if you can still recover stored files. Besides accounting for your logistics, your list of damaged equipment will be necessary when you file your incident report.
Evaluate the break-in points
Ask the assistance of authorities to identify where the potential break-in points are. It will help if you have any camera footage about what happened. You can also use the video recordings to assist the police in finding the culprits. If you don’t have any on-site security cameras, you can check for the closest street-side cameras to see if they have any footage of suspicious sightings.
Communicate the break-in internally with your team
Once you have a general idea of the break-in’s specifics, it’s important to notify your team about what happened. Since your staff may be distraught about the event, it’s crucial to craft a message that’s both transparent and reassuring. Ensure your colleagues that you’ll implement short-term and long-term safety measures to prevent a break-in from happening again. It’s better to have a day off or work remotely so that you can focus on implementing these protocols and tidying up any signs of a break-in after the police are done with their job.
File an incident report to authorities
Filing an incident report isn’t just for authorities; it’s also for filing an insurance claim. If you followed the steps above correctly, you wouldn’t have that much trouble recovering your insured assets.
Conclusion
The consumer market and competing establishments aren’t the only problems you should worry about. Part of maintaining a stable operation is making your property safe from potential break-ins and other criminal activities. This is why it’s crucial to reinforce your security measures to have better protection from crooks.
Reinforcing your security personnel will be an excellent way to upgrade your property’s defenses from criminals. If you need security services our professional contractors will be ready to implement safety measures in your office spaces. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how we can keep your business safe from harm.