Security for Vacant Property
Vacant properties are frequently targeted by criminals across the UK and as a property owner, it is vital you put in place security measures to protect your valuable assets.
Finding the right security team is vital to your success in doing this and as an expert in the industry we have put together this comprehensive guide on the importance of effective security on vacant properties.
SIA APPROVED
Prime Secure Systems Ltd t/a Prime Secure holds SIA approved contractor status for the provision of security guarding services.
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Why is vacant property security needed?
Empty property security protects vacant commercial premises from being the target of anti social behaviour, property crime, and weather damage.
Crime
Every year across the UK, an estimated 750,000 vacant buildings are the subject of vandalism alone according to the Office of National Statistics.This can lead to expensive property repairs that end up adding up to more than the property’s value itself.
A criminal offence on construction sites or similar can throw a project’s budget completely out the window and greater security is a small price to pay for the potential damage they could prevent.
Weather Damage
Crime is not the only threat to empty properties, and as global warming brings more and more extreme weather to the UK, damage caused by the natural elements is a major threat as well.Cold weather brings the risk of frozen pipes bursting or cracking, whilst torrential raining high winds can lead to debris being thrown through windows, flooding, and even unsecured building materials being destroyed.
Regular checks of the property by a keyholder or security company will allow you to keep track of any potential hazards and take precautions to ensure the worst never comes to pass.
Installing steel doors is one way to give you peace of mind as they not only keep your property secure and prevent theft but also keep out the natural elements and are not vulnerable to flying debris.
Community spirit
Vacant property can become a huge burden on a neighbourhood if not properly managed.Break-ins, anti-social behaviour, and graffiti cause visual and noise pollution within the community, whilst arson poses a serious fire risk to all nearby properties. A failure to maintain a vacant plot can also lead to you falling foul of restrictions put in place by the local authorities.
As a property owner, maintaining a good relationship with the community not only benefits those nearby but also your own property, as being part of schemes such as a local neighbourhood watch increases the chances of your security being alerted should an incident occur.
Vacant Property Services
At Prime Secure we offer a wide range of different vacant property security services to commercial customers across the UK managing vacant properties.
Squatter Eviction
If you manage a vacant property, you will know all about the dangers of illegal occupation by squatters. Evicting squatters can be challenging as these groups can be surprisingly well organised, and well aware of their legal rights.As vacant property security specialists, prime secure will work closely with your legal team and the police to secure an eviction notice in the high court and rapidly evict illegal occupants once obtained.
Each of our eviction enforcement teams has a High Court Enforcement Officer who allows us to transfer your County Court order to the High Court in no time at all. We also offer an excellent clean up services to deal with debris left by squatters such as drug paraphernalia, broken glass, and waste.
When accessing your property, squatters may cause malicious damage to doors, windows, or locks and after eviction, we will install perforated steel security screens and security doors, and change all the locks to ensure a repeat incident doesn’t take place.
Fly tipping removal
Another problem frequently faced by empty property owners is the dumping of rubbish or unwanted junk.Prime Secure’s experienced team of fly-tipping removers will quickly and professionally dispose of any waste abandoned on your property at a local recycling facility.
Each vacant commercial property is different and fly-tipping needs can vary widely. For example, those with large areas of land may be unable to keep an eye out for fly tipping across the entire site from the ground and in this situation, we can use drones to survey the area and identify fly-tipping sites. To prevent repeat instances of fly-tippers targeting your site we can install remote CCTV monitoring that will act as a visual deterrent to these criminals, as well as providing evidence to the police if an incident does occur that will allow them to target and prosecute the offenders.
For maximum deterrent, we also offer CCTV tower security systems that come equipped with an alarm system that uses loud audio or flashing lights to warns away intruders.
Alarm response
Installing a CCTV tower or alarm system in empty properties or on vacant land is all good and well but with no staff on site, you are still vulnerable if an appropriate fast response is not in place.It is important that you have security staff remote monitoring your security 24 hours a day, ready to spring into action should an intruder be spotted or alarm activated. Prime Secure’s fully trained security officers will be deployed to your empty building the moment a security breach is detected, initiating agreed upon protocols and dealing with whatever they are faced with.
The actions taken by our security guards will be tailored for your specific requirements and we always keep the building owner up to date with any developments.
Keyholding
In order to provide an effective alarm response, we also provide a keyholding service for your property.
This means we have a set of keys safe and secure at one of our local offices, ready to be used by our extensively trained keyholders in the case of an emergency.
As they are often responsible for controlling and resetting the alarm system and providing security services, it is essential that you always entrust a professional firm such as Prime Secure to provide your keyholding service.
We can also incorporate other security measures into our keyholding services for void property managers if required, including security dogs, mobile patrols, and alarm systems.
CCTV
Whilst void status can be beneficial, allowing you to reduce expenditure on utilities when a property is unoccupied, disconnecting your site means that there is no access to mains power that can be used to power a security system.
One option is to hire manned guards to constantly monitor your site, but this cost tends to offset any savings you are making.
At Prime Secure we offer industry leading mobile CCTV towers can monitor your site without the need for main electricity.
We will monitor the footage provided on a real-time basis, and trigger a fast response if an incident is detected.
Get In Touch
As a well respected SIA accredited provider of cost effective bespoke security solutions, we have become the country’s go-to choice for vacant property inspections and vacant property protection.
Prime Secure have developed a fantastic service for empty property owners.
Whether it is large scale construction sites, car parks, or empty plots of land that need protecting, we will develop a security plan with you requirements in mind.For more information on any of the services that we can offer you, to get a FREE quote, or to start your journey towards optimal security today, contact us on 0345 88 88 333, or by email at info@primesecure.co.uk.
