October is National Crime Prevention Month. The National Crime Prevention Council designated October Crime Prevention Month in 1984. American businesses lose a total of $50 billion every single year across most types of crimes. Of these crimes, cybercrimes, theft, and loss prevention are the most common.

No matter what type of business you operate, it is important that you not only protect your employees, but also make sure your building and property are secure. Below is a list of actions you can take to prevent potential crime from happening.

• The best protection against burglary is visibility. Burglars will usually not target a business where they can be easily seen. Make sure to light up all entrances and parking lots with vandal-proof fixtures. Keep bushes or trees trimmed so not to as provide a place for burglars to hide.
• Install heavy duty or dead bolt locks on all outside doors. Make sure all doors and windows are locked daily after business hours.  Octagon Building Care has a policy for employees to lock themselves inside of facilities for their own safety and security of the building.  We also take pride in ensuring your building is secure when we leave.
• Establish a maintenance plan to make sure that all lights, entrances, etc are repaired quickly if damaged.  As part of our standard maintenance agreement we make it our goal to help you keep your facility in working order.  We communicate regularly with our clients on maintenance issues that we find to keep your building in top condition.
• Consider installing an alarm system and have it checked regularly. Make sure it is connected to go off at all points of entry, including doors, windows, and loading docks.
• Establish an employee security plan. Make sure employees lock up their computers, desk drawers, proprietary information, etc nightly so there is nothing easily visible to steal.

In addition to commercial cleaning services, Octagon Building Care can help your business with building maintenance. Please contact us today regarding our custom building care to see how we can help your business stay safe.

Octagon Building Care is a leader in commercial cleaning and building solutions for Fort Worth, Arlington, and Dallas. Follow us on Facebook for more great information.