Employee Safety After Hours
.The lone employee arrives at the restaurant to begin prepping for the busy morning breakfast. As they walk into the restaurant, an armed individual confronts them in the parking lot forcing them into the building. Employee safety after hours is critical to protecting your business. Have you, as the business owner, provided them with a way to get help?
Unfortunately, after hours workers have been targeted across the nation. Looking for a quick buck, armed individuals will stop at nothing to get something of value. While business owners cannot predict nor prevent criminal activity, there are ways to give your employees quick access to help.
Duress Code
If there is a business security system, there should be a duress code. A duress code is a simple four to six digit number similar to a user code. When the user is in trouble, the code can be entered onto the keypad. The keypad will read “disarmed”, but the employee has actually sent a code to the central station operators to let them know they are in trouble. The operator can send police to a robbery in progress as the code is an intentional call for help. This is a code that should be added free of charge as there are no additional devices to monitor.
Panic Buttons
Panic Buttons can be in a permanent location or wireless. Permanent buttons should be located wherever and employee is working with money or high dollar merchandise. If the employee moves about the store, like in phone stores or jewelry stores a wireless two button fob can be carried on their person. A two button fob prevents false alarms as both buttons must be depressed and held down for several seconds to activate an alarm. When these buttons are pressed, a central station operator dispatches police.
Verify the Alarm
Panic buttons can be accidently pressed. So it is important to invest in a system that verifies an alarm. This can be done by using audio and video devices. Monitoring staff will be able to see and hear inside the building only when there is an alarm. The monitoring operators can give police dispatch details of the situation, like number of criminals and employees. This information will help law enforcement to plan while en route to the business.
Secure the building
If customers are not allowed public access, a security system can be used to protect the employees. The employees can arm the system as “occupied”. When a person forcefully attempts to enter the location, the alarm will be activated. To ensure employee safety, securing the whole building is necessary and should include:
- All perimeter doors that lead outside.
- The drive through window.
- The safe should have a contact on it. It can be armed when the store is empty, which will protect the contents should a criminal use an unconventional entry. Security on a safe will also give the employee a way to get help. If the safe is not disarmed when it is opened, a silent alarm can be triggered to send law enforcement.
As a business owner who appreciates good employees, invest in a system that protects them. For a free assessment of your property, contact us.