One of our plants recently suffered a burglary whereby the office safe and its contents, approximately £6,000 in cash and vouchers, were stolen. The offender even stole the site wheelbarrow to take away his haul!

The offender in this case, who was captured on CCTV despite stealing the DVR (and may even have demonstrated some site knowledge and insight), was clearly very determined. However, even a most determined would-be burglar can be thwarted by simple security measures which should be applicable to all sites, especially those where cash purchase is a regular occurrence.

It is important, in all such cases, we seek to learn and make security uplifts to existing practices, particularly where practices have been eroded.

Please ensure the following applies to your site:

• If you are handling cash, make sure the cash is kept in a secure safe and banked at the earliest opportunity, if possible, at the close of the working day.
• Cash should never be stored over the weekend.
• All safes should be in good working order with auditable records of key allocation. Ensure a safe is secured to the office structure and cannot therefore be simply removed from situ.
• Keycodes to safes should be regularly changed, not written down and only allocated to those responsible for the content.
• Padlock keys should be audited, and padlock codes changed regularly, especially after staff have left the organisation. Consider using Bluetooth padlocks, which enable accurate monitoring of use and easily controlled access and recoding.
• Where a site has CCTV, the DVR should be concealed and not on clear view and easily accessible to the determined offender.
• Spare keys to vehicles, plant, offices and equipment must be kept secure and NEVER hidden about the site for convenience purposes. This is an unacceptable risk and may even nullify insurance cover.
• Fire doors should be secure at all times and only operable as a fire exit.
• Wheelbarrows and items that could be used to assist offenders should be suitably secured.

If your site security needs a review, please contact Colin Jones or John Sweeting to arrange a site assessment.