Times have been both tough and uncertain for businesses here in San Francisco, CA, and throughout the USA. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many companies to close up shop temporarily until the virus has been contained, and normal business activities can resume. 

Now, however, with protests and looting in some parts of the country, even businesses here in San Francisco, CA, are feeling nervous about protecting their investment. Here are four ways that you can ensure your store remains safe, even with the threat of looting and riots.

Install Shutters

It may not be high tech, but for buildings that allow it, one of the best defenses against theft, when a retail outlet is closed, are pull-down shutters. These metal barriers may feel light and thin, but they are designed both to block a location’s windows so that what’s inside can’t be seen, as well as resist most forms of conventional attempts to take them down.

It takes a lot of force to remove shutters that are set in place and forces potential thieves to expend more time and effort that they may not have. Anything that makes a thief’s job more difficult encourages them to move to an easier target.

Remove All Stock

This is something that some retail outlets may have done as a COVID-19 precaution, but it also bears out in a riot/looting situation. While physical property may be damaged, your stock can’t be stolen if it was never there, to begin with. 

If you live in an area where COVID-19 re-openings were being phased in, you may want to reconsider restocking your business. If there are any concerns about protests and gatherings getting out of control and turning into rioting and looting, delay your reopening plans and don’t stock your store just yet.

Get Security Cameras

In the best-case scenarios, security cameras can be active deterrents that discourage people from committing crimes on your property. Being able to capture shoplifting, for example, on camera, is incredibly discouraging to casual thieves.

In the event, however, that theft occurs anyway, a good security camera can provide a quality, detailed image of the suspect or suspects to the police. These can be useful in investigations, leading to arrests and even convictions in court, since the footage can often be submitted as evidence by the prosecution.

Get An Alarm System

Finally, an alarm system makes sense for both homes and businesses. When properly installed, an alarm notifies you, thieves, and security or law enforcement of a crime in progress. For thieves, this severely limits how much time they can spend on the property since a security response is incoming.

For places that don’t have alarms, once they are invaded, especially if no one is aware of the intrusion, thieves can take as much time as they need to evaluate high-value items. An alarm ensures that any intrusion is a short-lived one of just minutes, not hours.

If you’d like to have better security for your home or business in San Francisco, CA, we can help. Contact us, and we can assess your property and find more ways to make it safer and more secure.