Home Security Tips for Jewelers: Electronic Security

As a member of the jewelry industry, you have a responsibility to protect your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

However, with so much focus on your business, have you neglected the security of your home? With off-premises dollar losses rising according to the Jewelers Security Alliance, home security tips for jewelers should now be a staple in your security plan.

Criminals often target jewelers at their homes because their security isn’t as robust compared to their businesses. This is used as a conduit to attack them and force the jeweler back to their business, which grants the criminals access to the merchandise they’re after.

Unfortunately, this type of crime can also burden the rest of your family and result in even more traumatic psychological strain versus an attack on your business.

To defend against this, you should ensure that your home is defensible against criminals from a physical perspective first. After addressing those areas, it’s time to move on to the home security tips for jewelers that emphasize electronic security:

• Consult a qualified and professional security company to evaluate your home security and to design, install and maintain an effective alarm system. Your security should:
   
  1. Sound a siren both inside and outside the house
  2. Detect a burglar opening and going through a door or window
  3. Be connected to a central station or your local police department
  4. Get tested regularly

• If windows are easily accessible to burglars, install alarm screens on them. These devices have wires woven into the screens that, if cut or removed, will sound an alarm.
   
• Place decals on exterior doors and visible windows that warn burglars your home is protected. Ask your security company for them and also ask for advice about other notifications that you can post around your property.
   
• Proper lighting is an effective crime deterrent during both day and night. Install energy-efficient outdoor lights that have motion-detection sensors. Pay particularly close attention to the entrances to your home, making sure that they are well-lit.
   
• Use automatic timers to turn on lights, TVs, radios, and other electronic devices at different times of the day to make it appear as if you are home.

While taking these tips into account, remember that a solid security plan involves all three phases, not just electronic. As mentioned earlier, physical security (such as maximizing the safety of your doors and windows) should be taken into account first. 

Now that you've addressed your electronic security as well, it’s time to put your plan into action and stay true to the procedures that will help keep you safe.

Don’t forget that this “PEP” approach to security should also be applied to your business.