An ounce of prevention can reduce crime threat to businesses

It’s not a comfortable subject.

No one likes to discuss crime or fraud, particularly when it’s perpetrated in our own community.

But Officer Jessie Hayden Pitman, advanced crime prevention specialist with the Columbia Police Department’s Community Services Unit, recently told a group of local business owners it’s important to be aware, prepared and proactive in dealing with the unpleasant topic.

Pitman spoke at an educational session sponsored by Boone County National Bank on Nov. 6 at the bank’s downtown location. The session,”Keeping Your Business Safe from Crime and Fraud,” covered everything from securing doors and windows to electronic banking features, such as positive pay and overnight deposit.

Here are some of the highlights from the information-packed session:

• Burglaries in residential areas are up 80 percent in 2008. That’s the bad news. The good news (if you can call it that) is that commercial burglaries are not on the increase. They’re not on the decrease either-just holding steady.
• Every single door on your facility should be deadbolt locked. Metal doors in metal frames are the best tamper-proof security you can have from uninvited guests. Pry plates and weather stripping can also help make your doors more intimidating to thieves.
• Always keep interior lights on-even when you are not there-24/7.
• Motion sensor lights are a powerful psychological deterrent as well as a physical one. But positioning of these lights is critical, so Pitman suggests consulting with the CPD for best placement.
• Consider adding landscape lights. They create a sense of territoriality, which makes potential burglars feel even more uncomfortable on your property.
• Select fencing with care. The wrong kind can create even more places for criminals to hide.
• Consider window grates. There are many attractive designs on the market.
• Even though your property may be surrounded by street lights and parking lot lights, they may not provide enough light to deter unwanted visitors.
• Put a viewer in every exterior door so you and your employees can see who is on the other side.
• Don’t prop doors open when you receive deliveries or are carrying things in and out of the building. It’s very easy for someone to slip in behind you or when you are not looking.
• No one should ever be in the facility by himself.
• Consider your parking lot. Criminals will most likely prey on facilities from which they can escape easily. Make yours more challenging with directional flow and speed bumps. Eliminate options that make it easy for someone to back in close to your facility.
• Concrete parking lots reflect more light than asphalt. White lines reflect more light than yellow ones.
• Keep in mind that the potential for criminal activity is greatest during the hours you are performing your opening and closing procedures. Be sure you have good coverage at those times, as well as private areas where cash can be handled out of the view of the public.

Representatives from Boone County National Bank also shared great information on preventative measures for cash handling and banking.

Rob Quinn, assistant vice president for business banking, said dual preparation of deposits is essential to remove the opportunity for internal theft. If you do not have the staff to have two people processing the transaction, make sure you can record the process on camera. He noted it’s important to update night depository contracts with your bank.

If your employees carry company credit cards, your bank or card vendor can help you limit where those cards can be used.

Paying bills online eliminates the need to have critical information passing through the mail, so if you can arrange for automated bill pay, you reduce the opportunity for theft.

While shoplifting continues to be a problem for businesses, internal theft by employees outweighs shoplifting by 75 percent. And even though it’s hard for business owners not to take that kind of news personally, the fact is that employee theft is not about people-it’s about opportunity. Reduce the opportunity, and you reduce the loss.

We all learned a great deal about how to reduce the opportunity for internal fraud, as well as criminal activity committed against businesses from external sources. The world isn’t getting any safer, but the session taught us how we can take some easy steps to at least feel that way.

Boone County National Bank will be holding more sessions for small business owners in the future. If the first one is any indication, they will be more than worth the 60 to 90 minutes you’ll need to invest. v

Mary Paulsell is the director of the University Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, home of the Missouri Small Business and Technology Development Centers in the MU College of Engineering. Reach her at [email protected].