Knowledge Centre

Crime Podcast

5th June 2008 Duration: 4m 57s File size: 2.3MB

Are you making it easy for thieves to target your business? Criminologist Professor Martin Gill explains how to think criminal to keep your business safe, and how to spent wisely on crime prevention.

The MORE TH>N BUSINESS Podcast with Professor Martin Gill. Today - how tempting is your business to a criminal? Professor Gill speaks to many convicted criminals. Prof Gill – Perpetuity Consultancy: The thing they tell me is the reason why they steal is because they say it's easy. Jane Markham – Podcats: So how do you make it difficult for them? Professor Gill is a criminologist, originally from the University of Leicester who now runs a spin out company called Perpetuity Consultancy that assesses the threat to business from all sorts of crime. Prof: One of the recommendations is 'think criminal'. If a criminal was to come to your premises what are the sorts of things they would be looking for? Are there trigger points that would make an attack more likely - an assault or verbal abuse? Are there ways in which a theft or a robbery would be more likely to take place? Is the building isolated in some way so a burglary could take place? Are the cash systems tight enough to close down on fraud. Take retailing. Thieves like busy environments because it is easier to hide what they are doing. It's less easy for busy staff to spot what they are doing and people take on temporary staff and, of course, they're not always geared up to look for these sort of issues. And it's important to keep the shelves full and that's also important to thieves, like it is to customers. So I can say these sorts of things but it doesn't mean we shouldn't do them (because we've got to do them for sales) it's just a matter of building in precautions where we can. Jane: So what make a criminal tick? Prof: I've spoken to a lot of thieves and the thing they tell me is the reason why they steal is because they say it's easy. And it's easy because they are able to conceal the goods without being seen. They are able to get out of the store without being detected. Now just think of those two things. What can you do to make it less easy for them to conceal goods? One way might be to think about lines of sight. It's easy to say we should have CCTV but even that is only good if the images are good enough, if they are pointing in the right direction, if there's enough of them and if there is someone watching them - and in a small business that's often just not the real world here. Jane: So think about the layout of your premises. Prof: The higher the shelves are the easier it is to hide. Think about points that are near the door how easily can they get in and quickly get out again without you noticing. They look for blind spots so the use of mirrors can help to make the store more visible. So these are general things that I can say, in order to encourage people to think about the right sorts of things. Jane: How much should you invest in crime prevention for your shop or business? Prof: It depends on the problem and it depends on what you already have. For example a small business which is part of a set of businesses, or part of premises where the security of the building is looked after by others, has different types of concerns and therefore outlays on protecting themselves, to those who are in more isolated areas and alone. Jane: And many will be nowadays be working from home - I mean that's one of the big growth areas. Prof: Absolutely - and of course that raises a whole range of issues about how safe the home is. Those who take information home for example. There might be issues about price lists or things that would give a competitor an advantage. An how much of that information that's taken home is properly secure? But the point about cost, just to be clear, is that it does depend on what you've already got and what the risks are.

Sometimes the police will give a free survey, sometimes there are business crime units and there are websites you can get advice. What I would caution against though is ringing up a security supplier and saying 'I want CCTV and I want an alarm'. And of course a CCTV supplier will come down, or an alarm supplier will come down, and fit you a good alarm and a good CCTV system - most do. Jane: But they may not necessarily be the most appropriate protection for you. It's worth getting independent advice. Prof: Make sure you're clear what the problems are before you launch into any type of expenditure. Check that what you already have you are using to big advantage. Don't forget if you've got staff - have you trained them to keep a watch out for shoplifters for example, for intruders, for people who shouldn't be there? And I think the third step is to say that when you do invest in a measure make sure that you are crystal clear about what the implications are. For example it's all very well having a CCTV system but have you thought about ... is it going to be good enough to support a prosecution? Jane: Professor Martin Gill from Perpetuity Consultancy. And if you'd like information about the services MORE TH>N BUSINESS can offer small businesses go to www.morethanbusiness.com or call 0800 294 8527. For your protection calls may be recorded or monitored.

I'm Jane Markham and this is a Podcats production for MORE TH>N BUSINESS.

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