Theft by employees costs United Kingdom business £190 million every year. It also affects businesses by impacting on profits, and possibly putting at risk the company’s future. It is not an issue that can be ignored.
As well as the obvious steps of ensuring, so far as possible, that you only employ people of good character, there are also practical steps you can take to ensure workplace security. These might include biometric access controls (perhaps protecting warehouse sections where there are high-value inventory), or physical security guards in sensitive areas. Today we look at how CCTV might help deter in-house criminal activity.
Remember that to be admissible in court CCTV footage must be of high quality.
1 – Simply installing CCTV cameras will act as a deterrent – it will focus the minds of dishonest employees and make them think about the consequences of being caught.
2 – CCTV cameras can have a positive impact on your insurance liability – false or malicious claims by employees (injuries at work for instance) can be disproved by CCTV footage.
3 – Cameras covering Point of Sale locations ensure the safety of both employees and customers – in retail outlets cash registers need to be monitored at all times.
4 – Use CCTV cameras in areas where high-value items are stored – ideally link CCTV surveillance system with an electronic access control system.
5 – Install CCTV cameras at employee check-in points so that you can ensure attendance – unfortunately payroll fraud happens in 27 percent of all businesses and is particularly prevalent in small organizations.
These are just some of the ways to use security technology to counter employee crime. Thankfully dishonest employees are fairly rare, so it is good practice to install CCTV cameras openly – the majority of the workforce will be on your side. Perhaps GBSG can advise you on your security requirements?
