Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 29, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 49 C entral Massachusetts businesses are strug- gling against the rising tide of crime. With a record-breaking inflationary environ- ment already taking a chunk out of their profits, businesses can no longer put perimeter security on the back burner. Now is the time to put proactive perimeter security strategies in place. Inflation and Technology are Driving Commercial Crime e global perimeter security market is expected to reach $145 billion by 2035, and for good reason. Crime is on the upswing, driven by inflation (which increases motivation for the) and technol- ogy (which helps thieves operate more efficiently by providing better tools to evade detection, track GPS shipments, and more). When prices go up, so does the of property. If your business owns or sells equipment, materials, or goods that can be sold on the black market for a profit, the higher inflation goes, the bigger the target on your business' back grows. Worcester is One Of The Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in U.S. Business owners located in Central Massachu- setts already know that crime is rising in the area, but many don't realize just how dire the situation has become. e violent crime rate is one of the highest in the nation, and property crime trails closely behind. A person in Worcester has a 1 in 25 chance of being a victim of a crime. Central Massachusetts businesses must un- derstand that, with a crime rate 20% higher than the national average, taking steps to secure the physical perimeter of their properties is necessary to preserve long-term profitability. You Lose More Than Money with Commercial Theft When your commercial property, vehicles, trucks, or job sites are the target of the, you lose much more than the value of what was stolen. When theft strikes your business, you also lose: • Productivity - While you wait for the police and insurance company to conduct their investi- gations, repair people to fix broken windows and doors, and stolen material and equipment to be replaced, you lose valuable production time — and time is money. • Reputation - Customers want to work with companies they know they can count on. e last thing your business needs is to give your custom- ers any reason not to trust your business. • Growth - Unplanned expenses resulting from a break-in can put your growth plans on hold, as capital is diverted from new revenue-generating projects into repair and replacement of stolen property. Be Informed: Here Are the Facts • Larceny is the #1 property crime in Massachu- setts. • Worcester's crime rate is 20% above the national average. • Cargo the rates jumped 57% between 2022 and 2023. For every business, the fact is: it is only a matter of time before thieves set their sights on your front door (or back gate, or truck lot…) Here are five things you can do today to build a stronger perimeter to keep thieves out and your profits protected. 1. Install an electrified security fence. Chain-link fences can be cut in seconds with a bolt cutter from a home improvement store. Barbed wires can be breached with a simple crowbar. But nothing can keep your property safe and mind at ease than an electric perimeter fence. 2. Add more lighting. Most criminals' #1 asset is the cover of darkness. Adding lights at strategic spots throughout your property, particularly around gates, doors, windows, and areas not covered by surveillance cameras can make thieves think twice before trying to breach your perimeter. 3. Trim your landscaping. Keeping trees and shrubs neatly trimmed can reduce the number of hiding places on and near your property. 4. Invest in 24/7 off-site security monitoring. e presence of a physical security guard is a good deterrent to crime, but a single security guard or even a small team can't be everywhere all the time. Consider using off-site, 24-7 monitoring with breach and movement detection. 5. Beat outages with solar-powered security. How many times has your business lost power because of a storm? Winter and summer in Central Massa- chusetts bring strong storms that regularly knock out power, making your current security system obsolete until the power comes back on. So- lar-powered security means your security system is always online, no matter the weather. AMAROK's security experts have helped countless businesses just like yours protect their property. See what our Boston customer Joe Salami of Salami Isuzu Trucks experienced before and aer installing an AMAROK security system on our YouTube page. Want to know more about how our customers enjoy 5X ROI with our AMAROK perimeter security systems? Visit our page amarok.com/ protectMA. Securing Our Future: Perimeter Security Strategies to Combat Rising Theft in Central Massachusetts

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