General business safety tips

• Keep up-to-date and organized inventory records.
• If you accept online payments or use the Internet to gather customer information, consider website authentication to decrease the threat of fraud.
• Install security cameras: to prevent crime and help identify suspects of crime.
• Train employees to close the store properly.
• Make sure that all inside and outside entrances and windows are able to be secured, preferably with deadbolt locks and/or metal cages with locks.
• Make sure the outside of your business is well lit.
• Consider installing covers over exterior lights and power sources to prevent tampering.

• Make sure that your entire sales floor can be easily viewed. Eliminate any blind spots that may hide a robbery in progress. Keep displays neat, and place small and valuable objects in cabinets. Ensure that your staff is familiar with all of the merchandise in the store.
• Change locks if the keys are lost or not returned by a former employee.
• Install an enunciator on entrances to alert you that someone has entered your store or office.
• Make bank deposits often and during business hours but do not establish a regular pattern that a potential thief is able to follow.
• Think before talking about the details of your job or working on sensitive projects in public places with strangers around.
• Invest in a paper shredder or consider what is on a piece of paper before you toss it into the trash.
• Get to know the people who operate other businesses in your area. Watch for suspicious activity and report it to the police immediately.

• After hours, do not work late alone. Create a buddy system for walking to parking lots or public transportation or ask security to escort you.
• Protecting your premises physically is a challenge in itself—but your online property is just as valuable. Given the growth of identity theft, it pays to invest in antivirus, anti-phishing, anti-spyware and a firewall protection to ensure that your network and your employee's personal information are secure.

Robbery prevention measures

• Greet or assist each customer as they come into the store.
• If a person appears to be loitering in the store, ask them if they need any assistance.
• Watch for suspicious loiterers outside, in cars, or on foot.
• Be suspicious of persons asking about your security or cash handling system.
• If you become concerned about a person or vehicle, note the description and contact police immediately.
• Never count cash or open the safe in public view.
• When possible, make bank deposits during banking hours and use an unmarked package to transport the money.
• Keep sight lines in and out of the store clear by removing signs and displays from window areas.
• Remove displays or stock that provide hiding spots in the store or around the exterior of the building.
• Adequate lighting should be maintained both in and outside the business.
• If your business is equipped with an alarm system, make certain that it is properly serviced and that all staff members are aware of how and when to use it.
• Make sure employees are familiar with the use of the "panic" button of your alarm system, and with locking of doors.
• Have all side or service doors locked at all times.

During a robbery

• You should stay calm.
• Keep any note that the robber passes to you and handle it by the edges only; to help with fingerprinting.
• Make observation of the robber so you can describe him to police when they arrive (tattoos, hair colour, build, clothing description, etc.)
• You do not know what type of concealed weapon the robber may have so do not argue or fight.
• Always keep in mind the safety of you, your staff and your clients are the main priority.

After a robbery

• Promptly lock all doors to prevent the robber from getting back into the store.
• Do not touch anything; to preserve evidence for the police.
• Keep an eye on the suspect's direction of travel once they leave, while maintaining your own safety.
• Try to get the license plate number if the suspect flees in a vehicle.
• Call the police immediately and follow all their directions.
• Do not hang up on dispatch until the police officer arrives.
• Ask any witnesses if they would be willing to talk to the police about the robbery.
• Write down your observations of the suspect while fresh in your mind.
• When talking to the police, do not exaggerate the story.

Security tips - closing a business for an extended period

• Remove all valuables from storefront displays.
• Remove all cash from tills and leave open with the empty cash tray out.
• Leave some indoor lights on using timers for better quality security video and to make it seem like there is activity in the home.
• Clean all windows and floors before leaving and make note when you have done so to help police investigate in the event of a break-in.
• Post on doors/windows that the property is monitored by an alarm company and no money is kept on site. Include the WPS non-emergent phone number, (519) 537-2323, to call Police should anyone notice a break-in or damage.
• Put a protective film on windows and glass to prevent easy entry via “smash-and-grab.”
• Ensure all doors and windows get locked and secured.
• Ensure security alarm systems work and contact lists are current.
• Consider a CCTV surveillance system that can be monitored by phone/online and record to review for an investigation.
• Ensure all exterior lighting is functioning and on. Consider motion sensor lights as another option to detect and deter unlawful activity.
• Remove anything on the exterior which could be used to gain entry to your premises (bricks, ladders, poles, construction materials, etc.).
• Regularly check the building at different times and keep track of when you check (maintain a log).

NOTE: Woodstock Police remind property owners that if a business looks neglected it can become a target. If it looks cared for and like someone is home or around often, thieves will move on to other locations.