With no permanent tenant, vacant properties are more likely to be the target of theft vandalism, and other criminal activity than other buildings.

Many people believe that managing a vacant property is as simple as lock up and leave, but without the appropriate security measures, dealing with the consequences of property damage, theft, and arson, could end up costing you thousands and thousands of pounds over time.

How to protect vacant property

Protecting your vacant property with Prime Secure by installing the appropriate security measures is crucial to avoiding criminal damage.

Luckily, there are many different options available when it comes to property security.

The exact methods that will best suit your needs will depend on a number of factors including the value of the contents and the building itself, the area, the

Some of the most effective methods that will be effective on almost any property, however, include:

Install surveillance cameras

At Prime, we always recommend to our commercial customers that they install a monitored CCTV system on their property.

For vacant property owners, this is even more important, keeping an eye over your site when no-one is there and allowing you and your security team to remotely monitor ongoing activity from afar.

CCTV cameras alone are a hugely effective deterrent to criminals as the last thing a burglar wants is to be identified during the act.

Most opportunist burglars are on the lookout for vacant properties with as little evident security as possible and the mere sight of cameras installed on the outside of your property is enough to make the vast majority of criminals to simply move on to another target.

Should a criminal not be deterred, CCTV cameras really come into their own, recording intruders in the act and giving the police a much better chance of retrospectively catching those responsible.

If the motion detectors on your monitored CCTV system are activated, the security firm responsible for managing your security will be alerted. They will then remotely access the live feed and make a decision on the best way forward based on their observations.

The moment that an intruder is identified on the site, a team of expert security guards will be deployed to the site and the police will be identified, giving you a chance of intercepting them in real-time and limiting the time they have to cause damage.

Ensure access control is in place

Using security doors with keypads as opposed to traditional doors with keyholes is another great way to make your vacant property more secure.

Many experienced criminals are skilled at lock picking and even if they are not, security doors are much harder to break through using force than standard doors.

Keypads with millions of different combinations are almost impossible to crack and only authorised individuals will be able to access your property with these in place.

To take your access control security one step further, you might consider using biometric recognition technology to control access, such as fingerprint or facial recognition scanners although these all cost money and if you are on a budget a standard security door will still provide a strong defence against intruders.

Maintain the site

Nothing says “no one is home” like an overgrown yard and boarded windows.

If your property is only expected to be vacant for a short period, rather than taking more permanent measures such as shutter and board installation, consider maintaining the appearance of an operational building by continuing to keep up with maintenance and avoid your property becoming tired and obviously uninhabited.

Install Lighting

Installing motion activated lighting on the exterior of your property can be an effective way to scare off those approaching your property.

Stealth is key for thieves, and if an opportunist intruder is illuminated in bright light in the middle of the night, the vast majority will turn tail and leave to avoid being intercepted.

You could also consider installing interior lighting activated via timer as this will give any casual observer the impression that there is ongoing activity within the property even when no one is home.

Install Alarms

An alarm system really is a must for any vacant property, playing a key role in the detection of intruders and alerting your security team to the incident.

A monitored burglar alarm activation will notify the central monitoring centre of the security firm responsible for your security system who will then deploy a team of security experts to the site and notify the relevant emergency services.

Given their effectiveness in detecting intruders, many criminals will be deterred from targeting your property in the first place when they see an alarm box on the exterior wall, but you should ALWAYS use a professional security service when installing burglar alarms as it is important they are positioned somewhere they cannot be tampered with.