Christmas is indeed the most wonderful time of the year. For most, it is the time to celebrate and spread joy. For a few others, it is the perfect time of the year to steal the joy by breaking in, creating damage, and carrying out criminal activities. There are higher chances of intrusion and unsociable behaviour during this time of the year as criminals are well aware that construction sites are easier to break into over the holiday season due to the premises being unoccupied for an extended period.

Aside from thieves looking to make money from selling plant machinery, fuel, and materials, there are also several types of intruders looking to vandalise premises for the adrenaline rush or to alleviate boredom. The frequency of these incidents is higher than you would imagine. Research by the Chartered Institute of Buildings (CIOB) found that 92% of construction sites experienced theft regularly. Sites without security are up to five times more likely to be affected, and empty sites are prime targets for thieves and trespassers.

Christmas and the festive period, in general, are busy times with plenty of activities to carry out and things that require your attention. In addition to these activities, you want to avoid having to respond to on-site incidents and deal with theft, damage, or worse. Hence, additional security measures are required over the festive period, and we have prepared the top tips and actions that will help you enjoy this Christmas without security concerns:

 

What can you do to improve the security of your site over Christmas?

Ensure Your Site is Secure

Did you know that your legal responsibility is to secure the construction site to prevent unauthorised access? Hyperactive youths, drunk adults, and young children are all prone to be tempted to enter construction sites and play with the machinery. The answer to keeping your site and them safe from resulting injuries is to stop them from accessing the site. To do so, ensure that the perimeter fencing is in place and that all gates or entrances are locked. Moreover, all excavation must be covered or barriered, and ladders and access to platforms and scaffolding should be removed. Remember to turn off unused electrical outlets.

Safely Secure all Machinery

As mentioned above, restricting entry is the most important. However, securing your site equipment is vital should someone get in. Ensure the ignition keys are stored off the site, keys are removed, all containers are locked up, and plants are immobilised. Any tools and equipment that could be attractive to children need to be hidden. If you’re unsure about the accessibility of your equipment, you need to consider another storage option.

Assess Your Lighting

Christmas and winter mean reduced daylight and much darker nights. Thieves are comfortable with low lights and dimly lit sites as it gives them a good opportunity to do what they need to do. Also, dimly lit sites can cause several accidents for your employees. It is essential to conduct an assessment of your lighting and consider the improvements required to boost security. Install movement-sensitive lighting or leave some lights on with a timer over the holiday period.

Deterrence and Detection

Security measures that act as deterrence are important to stop would-be thieves from entering the site and carrying out criminal activities. Most criminals would be put off by the presence of a visual deterrent as the chances of getting caught are very high. Detection of criminal activities is also equally important as prevention. Hiring security officers, placing CCTV cameras and towers, mobile patrols, etc., help deter and detect thefts and vandalism.

Display Emergency Contacts

Finally, it’s a brilliant idea to have emergency contact numbers displayed on your signs and provided to neighbours so that you or your builder can be reached in the case of urgent needs that require attending over the closure period.

 

How we can help you to improve site security over Christmas?

Additional Security Officers

Protect your site during downtime. Our experienced and highly trained Construction Security Officers are ready to help you keep your site safe. Security officers act as a visual deterrent to would-be thieves. They can put off any individual trying to break in, protecting the premises from all kinds of obstructions and intrusions. Unauthorised visitors are a significant problem in unattended premises and sites. It has also been proven that anti-social behaviour and criminal acts are vastly reduced when security officers patrol as visual deterrents. Based on the size of the site, one or more officers may be required to manage access safely. Find out more about security officers here.

Mobile Patrols

Prime Secure mobile security officers patrol the streets checking up on our clients’ sites while providing a highly visible presence. Our officers provide excellent security for your business and property, adding another layer of protection to your existing CCTV and alarm systems. The more visible your security measures are, the less likely you are to suffer attempted intrusions in the first place. Our street patrols in one of Edinburgh’s most troubled areas led to an 80% reduction in incidents. We offer bespoke mobile patrols and can deliver permanent mobile patrols or assess your site during designated times upon discussing with you. Find out more about mobile patrols here.

Festive Keyholding

Christmas is a season of events, get-togethers, and parties, and relying on your staff to carry out the responsibilities of a keyholder is risky. In the event of an incident, especially when you may be busy over the festive period, our experienced and well-drilled team will take care of everything. There are many reasons to take advantage of Prime Secure’s keyholding service. Our operatives are SIA-licensed and highly trained. With Prime Secure’s keyholding service, your keys will be kept safe, secure, and readily available to our security officers, who will spring into action as soon as an issue is detected.

With our UK-wide coverage, you’re never far from a Prime Secure security officer. No matter the time or location, we will have experienced personnel on-site as soon as possible. Once on-site, our security officers will initiate pre-agreed protocols and thoroughly investigate your site to identify the source of the alarm activation and act accordingly. Learn more about our keyholding services here.

Additional and Temporary CCTV

Additional CCTV cameras can reassure security by maximising your site’s visibility and thus deterring and detecting crime efficiently. Our rapid deployment CCTV towers with deep learning boast a range of high-tech features and can be rapidly deployed in the most challenging environments. Find out more about our CCTV towers here.

Our V-Pod is another option and excellent CCTV and one of the best and most cost-effective ways of protecting property and assets. Our clients often use it to protect distribution centres, warehouses, stores, for graffiti prevention, etc. Find out more about our V-Pod here.