Message from the President

June may be the month for business burglaries in St. George. It was just last year that we published this information to help our members deal with a rash of business burglaries. We share it with you again because it is always good advice, any month of the year:

These burglaries are targeting businesses that keep cash on the premises overnight.  The recommendation is to remove any significant amounts of cash from the premise through after hour’s bank deposits whenever possible. Installation of alarm systems can also be helpful. However  when cash is kept in a fashion where it is easily accessible, police have a hard time responding to an alarm before a burglar can make entry, remove cash and make a safe escape.

All businesses should become familiar with a concept known as “hardening the target.”  Hardening a target makes your business less attractive to a burglar.  Increasing lighting, eliminating places where burglars can gain entry while being hidden, installing alarms or cameras and improving cash handling procedures could all be considered steps to harden your business as a possible target.

A camera installed at one business has given police the best lead so far in the 2009 string of burglaries.

Asking a police officer or security professional to visit your business to assess the “hardness” of your business as a potential target is always a productive endeavor, and currently very timely.