Have you thought of leaving your current residence for another or considering moving your company/business location to another? If this question directly or indirectly speaks your mind, then you must take note of some basic security tips.

Beyond convenience and affordability, there are other factors you should consider before deciding on the kind of environment you want to move to.

For us, your safety is paramount to us. So, in this article, we are looking at few signs that show that an area/environment could be unsafe or needs to be beefed up with security guards.

Security ranks amongst man’s essentials needs; it is safe to say “nothing productive works where there is an unrest”. Crime will always frustrate efforts to grow businesses or have a better living. These 6 signs make up our list of ‘red lights’ for an unsafe environment.

EVERYDAY SECURITY: 6 Warning Signs of an Unsafe Environment

1. Multiple Access Routes

When going to inspect a possible location for your business or residence, look out for routes to the address you have been taken to. Understandably, you might not know where to look because it could be your first time in that area.

But you can politely ask if there are other ways one can gain access to the location. Why is this so necessary?

For criminals, they like it when they have enough exit options. Meaning that when they come to carry out their heinous acts they can easily escape without detection. If you are so keen on having your business relocated to an area like this, do well to suggest that the security in the area be beefed up. Or the number of routes is reduced for better access monitoring.

What if I have been living or working in this area already and most of my customers already know my brand? The logical way to manage this is to limit access routes and monitor the movement of persons – more like having a neighbourhood watch.

2. Broken Fences

The fence is seen as the first line of defence, so if this defence is already broken, you are making it easier for criminals to have their way.

House fencing should be high enough to prevent intruders from gaining entry into a compound.

In some fencing, one could also have the top of the fence wired. Some of the wires are electrified, which means any attempt by criminals to gain entrance can get them electrocuted. Or suffer burns as a result of them coming in contact with electrified fence wiring.

A more traditional way of securing the fence is the use of broken bottles or sharp-pointed irons on top of the fence.

3. Lack of security gates at the neighbourhood entrance

The advantages of having a security gate at major entry points cannot be overemphasized. The entrance is where all the thorough security checks are done. It’s is where you stop crime even before it happens.

Estate housing easily comes to mind, you will notice that car boots are checked at entry and exit points. Sometimes receipts for items carried are requested by security guards just to ensure that stolen items are not taken out of the estates.

The elites prefer to live in the estate because of the relative calmness and security in these areas. In order to instil confidence in the security of some areas, other proactive house owners also construct gates and security post at the major entry point for better policing.

When you have this, it enhances your safety, privacy and security. You don’t have to wait until a crime is committed before putting up measures against crimes in your area.

4. No Street Lights

Street lights are not only installed to make an area look pretty at night, but they also make it more secured. A good example is the massive street lighting project by the government of Lagos state in 2018 where 33000 street lights were installed. It was done to make the state more secure at night.

Before then, there had been reports of crimes being perpetuated mostly at night in Lagos. To a very large extent people living or working in Lagos state can attest to a relatively secured Lagos.

Street lights also help security guards to effectively carry out their jobs at night. Where there is no street light, guards are compelled to work with their flashlight/torchlight alone. This only provides a one-way view of your environment leaving them with many blind spots to deal with.

With street lights, guards can see the areas clearly. At a glance they can easily detect movement and identify people entering a neighbourhood/area.

5. Closeness to Police Station/Post

We are sure you can remember the popular saying; “the police is your friend”. This notion though has been misunderstood by many. But really, the reason for this usual saying is to emphasise on the need to see the police as your go-to persons when there is an issue to be resolved.

The police can assist you in handling any kind of conflict or crime-related cases. Having them close to your area makes them more accessible to you. You can easily approach them to report a case, and they can easily respond to your emergency calls too.

In other climes, police post is not so far from each other, making it easier to arrest a criminal and more difficult for criminals to commit offenses. The more security-conscious area makes sure there is a police post or station close to them just in case there is an emergency.

6. Drug Abuse

The impact of drug abuse is all centred on crime. It is hard to separate crime from an area where there is a lot of drug peddling. Statistics have shown 72.4% of crimes are committed by individuals who have been exposed to alcohol and other narcotics.

Drug addiction alone is a phenomenon that international health bodies are strongly against. Addicts can go to any length to raise money in order to buy more drugs. If they can’t work to get money to fulfil their desire to buy more drugs, they resort to stealing from people.

If you are looking to get your business located in areas like this, then you know you have more to do. Invest in stronger doors and burglary and possibly private security guards to help you manage security 24/7.

Conclusion

Have we said you shouldn’t live or work where you want? No! If it appears that you find yourself in an unsafe environment, you should relate with your agents or community leaders on the need to improve security. We have mentioned the installation of the street lights, strategic placement of security posts and better management of access points as possible solutions.

You should contact us for a free security risk assessment on your area. Our team will suggest possible solutions where necessary if you aren’t sure of the state of security of your area.

We trust this piece have helped to educate you on the security risks in an area.

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