Winter is one of the worst times of the year for break-ins as the darkness and the cold makes for fewer people on the streets to deter opportunistic criminals. When it comes to the wet weather as well, injuries on-premises also increase during this season too. With the risk of crime and injury high during these next few months, how sure are you that your school or establishment is completely safe and secure?
A 3-step guide to becoming Winter safe
If you’re not 100% sure that your establishment is safe and secure this season, use these 3 steps to ensure that you have everything that you need in place and that everything is working as it should.
1. Check your current security
You may have put all the necessary security features in place at one time or other, but over time, changes are made and new features are implemented which can decrease the effectiveness of your security. All it takes then is for one opportunistic criminal at the right time to breach your security defences.
Are you sure that your current security measures are completely protecting your establishment and assets? If not, you can check your security measures in the following ways:
- Carry out your own risk assessment – you can walk around your establishment with a risk checklist to ensure that you have security measures in place as and where you need them.
- Pay professionals to carry out performance testing – some security features can be tested on to check that they are up to standard. For example, a professional glazing survey will check the strength of your windows and doors.
- Invest in intrusion testing by a security company – some security companies offer intrusion testing which is where they create a realistic attack simulation and attempt to gain access to your establishment. This will measure the strength of your existing physical controls and exploit and potential weaknesses.
Read:
- 4 Education Essentials to Protect Your Staff and Students
- How To Use Your Budget Cost-Effectively To Protect Your Educational Establishment
2. Update or implement new safety measures
Only when you’ve tested your current security measures can you improve and reinforce them, giving you complete peace of mind when it comes to the protection of your property and people. With the Winter season making businesses and establishments particularly vulnerable to crime, now is the ideal time to identify your weaknesses so that you can make them your strengths.
Here are a few products that you should implement to be completely Winter safe and secure:
- Tinted/one-way vision window film – secures stock and protects all interior belongings and assets from exterior view. Preventing people from looking into your premises is one of the best deterrent methods when it comes to your security.
- Anti-shatter window film – protects the weakest part of the building (your windows/glass doors) by preventing them from being shattered by an external source. Not only does this deter and potentially prevent entry, but it also protects against serious injury too.
- Anti-slip materials – prevents slips, trips and falls caused by slippery surfaces. With an increase in wet weather during Winter, products such as anti-slip tape can help reduce the likelihood of accidents, especially on uneven surfaces or stairs.
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3. Regularly review your safety and security
Security isn’t just something that you can implement and then leave, it needs to develop with you as you grow to ensure that you are always protected. Over time, you should regularly review your safety and security measures to make sure that they are up-to-date and that everything is doing what it should. If it’s not, then you can do something about it instead of being vulnerable to security risks.
If you don’t test your security, you can’t be sure that your measures are sufficient to protect you when a threat actually occurs so at least once a year (preferably in preparation for the Winter season) check everything over!
Make safety and security a priority this season
Long, dark days and wet weather can potentially cause issues and that’s not even taking into account the Christmas lockdown period. To completely protect your establishment (and give yourself peace of mind), here is everything you need to do when it comes to making sure that you have complete safety and security this Winter:
- Check your security
- Make safety a priority
- Regularly check that you are protected
Long story short, you need to upgrade your windows and invest in anti-slip flooring materials to be Winter safe!
WE’D LOVE TO HELP YOU BE WINTER SAFE!
If you need any help or advice on the safety and security of your establishment, don’t hesitate to get in touch; we’d love to help! Not only does Applied Products offer professional glazing surveys on your existing glass to check they are up to standard, but they also have a large range of specialist window films to help you protect your premises and assets this Winter.
Applied Products – [email protected] / 01792 895730
