How to Properly Secure an Office Building

A threat to the security of your office building is always a serious concern.

Having a security strategy is essential to safeguarding your business. Whether you’ve experienced a break-in or security breach in the past, it’s necessary to take a proactive approach to protect your building and the employees inside.

The right approach will help prevent and significantly decrease the chances of an incident.

In this post, we’ll highlight steps you can take to keep your property safe using the 5D’s of perimeter security.

Before you do anything, you need to have a clear understanding of your specific needs, situation, and the resources at your disposal. Here are a few tips on how to assess your security situation.

Know the gaps

Start by identifying any gaps in your security strategy. For example, if you’ve had a break-in in the past, think about the information you can use from that incident to implement into your new strategy.

If you haven’t experienced a security breach in the past, you need to think like a thief.

Imagine if you were planning to break into your property. What blind spots would you find? What access points would you consider?

Know your area

Different areas have varying security needs, and it’s imperative to understand the most common crimes in your area.

When is crime likely to happen? At night? During the day? On weekends or holidays?

Know the risks you’re facing

You also want to understand the type of crime your business is most vulnerable to.

A warehouse and healthcare facility will attract different types of crime, and you can better protect your business if you know where the risks are coming from.

It’s crucial that you spare some time to research the strategies criminals will likely employ and their motives in order to prepare a solid security strategy.

Only after identifying the security risks your building is likely to face can you draw up a comprehensive plan that best suits your needs.

For example: Are the criminals more likely to blend in as ordinary visitors or break-in after hours? How experienced is the type of criminal that may be inclined to break into your premises?

Know your budget

Consider your company’s budget. There is a broad range of cutting-edge surveillance, alarm, and access control technology available, but budget constraints may limit you from accessing state-of-the-art gear.

Knowing what is within your budget will give you a better idea of the workforce you’ll need to supplement any gaps in your tech-backed security.

The 5D’s of Perimeter Security

Once you’ve assessed your specific security needs, you can proceed with the next step, which is considering what security measures you need to adopt.

The 5D’s of perimeter security is a good framework to use when creating your security strategy.

Deter

Your first line of defense is visual deterrence. Thieves are mostly opportunists, so if your premises appear too challenging to break into, they’ll likely move on.

The most effective deterrents include visible surveillance cameras, gates, exterior motion-activated lights, and internal lights that make your property look occupied even when there’s no one around.

If you have trees and shrubs around your building, keep them well-trimmed and maintained to prevent window or roof access and eliminate possible hiding areas.

Even signs warning that you have a surveillance system in and around your building can help deter intruders from trying to enter your premises.

Detect

In case an intruder circumvents your first line of defense, you must invest in a robust detection system. Make sure your surveillance equipment covers all access points to the building.

You need to cover more than just your doors and windows: Be sure to cover all avenues of approach, such as low walls near the back entrance or pathways.

How you position your cameras is also critical. The cameras should be more than just a visual deterrent.

Consider the angle and video quality they will capture. For example, intruders will avoid being caught by looking away from the cameras or concealing their faces with sunglasses, hats, or hoods, so it would be ineffective to position your cameras to capture only the tops of heads of people entering your premises.

Ideally, you want to invest in a dedicated surveillance team like Building Security Services to monitor your security cameras.

But if that’s not possible, you could set up event-based monitoring designed to alert you if it captures something out of the ordinary, like movement on the property after office hours.

Companies that are just starting out will have varying surveillance systems. Just make sure to link your camera system to your alarm and access control systems.

If an alarm goes off during an event, you should be able to pull up the nearest camera to monitor what’s happening.

Deny

Your next line of defense is your access control. Ideally, only your employees and staff should have access, but lost keys and key cards often go unreported.

Former employees or even short-term contractors may also still know an alarm code or have a key. Such scenarios can create significant vulnerabilities for your office.

Here are a few tips on creating a more secure access control policy:

Tightly monitor and update

Be sure to update access control measures regularly. You may have no reports of stolen or lost keys, but someone who plans to break into your building may have learned your access codes or obtained a copy of your keys.

This may be common if your business requires you to have temporary staff or contractors, maintenance specialists, caterers, and other unknown people who regularly come in and out of your building.

Your best bet is to take all the necessary precautions.

Create a system for reporting lost or stolen key

Sometimes a lost key may have been stolen. Staff members or employees may not report such incidences right away because they fear facing the consequences or got distracted by other priorities.

It’s crucial, therefore, to reiterate the importance of reporting lost keys without delay.

You want to emphasize the procedure for reporting lost keys and reiterate that there will be no consequences for reporting lost keys.

Individualize access codes

When your building only has a small group of people, having one shared door or alarm code may seem reasonable.

However, sharing the same access code lowers a person’s sense of responsibility and raises the likelihood of making mistakes.

Individualizing access codes, on the other hand, increases each individual’s sense of responsibility.

If possible, assign different levels of access to different individuals.

For instance, you could grant visitors access only to public areas, restrict access to high-security regions to specific employees, and restrict contractors to certain areas and allow them access only for a limited time.

The best thing about access control systems is that they create a log that you can use for audit and reporting in the event of a security breach.

Delay

Most perimeter breaches or break-ins are committed by someone who has been inside your building before.

Often, they may have gained access to some sensitive information, seen unattended valuables out on people’s desks, or spotted a loophole in your overall security.

Even during workdays, when most people will most likely have their guard down, it’s crucial to have policies in place to delay potential security breaches.

For instance, you can create a policy requiring all visitors to sign in and possibly wear a tag when entering the building, allowing you to identify all unknown persons in the building immediately.

Secure valuable office equipment, such as monitors and laptops, to desks. Install locks on cabinets and doors to rooms with equipment storage or sensitive information.

Create a policy that requires all these cabinets and doors to be shut when not in use.

Defend

In addition to physical and technological security measures, it’s crucial to have trained security guard services in NYC and NJ that can monitor your premises, implement your policies, and respond in case of security incidents such as an intrusion.

The number of security personnel you’ll require will depend on various factors such as the size of your building, potential blind spots, and your type of business.

For example, you may want to have guards patrol access points that aren’t covered by your surveillance equipment.

On the other hand, buildings in metropolitan areas with limited access points may require no more than two guards who can focus on maintaining your visitor security and access control policies.

The most effective strategy is for security companies to brief their guards thoroughly on your security procedures and your expectations.

Create a solid security policy that will guide and support the security measures you’ve already put in place, and ensure the company you hire has a comprehensive understanding of your property and business’ needs.

Secure your office building with top-notch services from Building Security Services, Inc. We have highly trained and licensed security personnel and provide custom security solutions to a wide range of clients. Contact us today to learn more about the building security services we offer.