It’s after hours and you have armed your alarm for the evening. Later you receive a system notification from your burglar alarm company, how would you respond?
Would you brush it off as a false alarm? Or neglect to check on the business? If so, you’ll want to change your response due to the recent rash of power-cutting burglaries.
Jewelers' Security Alliance (JSA) has issued reports of over 50 reported incidents in which burglars have generated power surges or cut the power lines to attempt to disable alarms. These incidents have occurred in seven states and Canada.
The burglars cut the power after the store has closed and then wait to see if the owner and/or police respond. If the alarm service dispatched police arrive they will wait for the owner to arrive. If the owner or their authorized associate fail to arrive the police officer will leave. After the police leave, the burglars break into the store by either cutting through the roof or through a common wall shared with an adjacent, usually unprotected, property. Once inside the store, they can attack the safe by either cutting into it with a saw or torch. In some of the recent instances, the safes have not been attacked.
Responding to thoroughly investigate the source of all instances of power interruptions at your store is critical. Here are six tips Jewelers Mutual suggests to make sure your store remains secure in the wake of these attacks:
- Update your call list so the burglar alarm system notifications can be responded to promptly.
- Arrange to meet the police at your protected property when responding to any alarm notification. You don't want to arrive alone.
- Alert the police that burglars could be observing or waiting in a nearby area.
- Double-check that your roof, plenum area between your hung ceiling and the roof and common walls shared with adjacent properties are protected.
- Confirm that your burglar alarm system has operational line security to protect the store if the burglar alarm communication path between the protected premises and the monitoring facility should be compromised.
- Make sure your safes provide adequate physical protection. Burglary resistant UL rated TL 15 and TL 30 safes have recently been targeted in these attacks and have been compromised.
In addition to contacting local authorities, please reach out to Jewelers' Security Alliance and Jewelers Mutual if you experience power interruptions at your store. Both organizations work to keep you and your business safe and secure.
It’s also a good idea to make sure your business has adequate insurance coverage. Reach out to a Jewelers Mutual agent today.
