Ways to Prevent Crimes in Restaurants and Bars

Restaurants and bars are considered easy targets for criminals due to their unusual operating hours and the constant flow of customers. Don’t make it simple for them; use these strategies to put preventative measures in place to reduce liabilities and criminal activity.

The five strategies listed below can help prevent crime, lessen liability exposure for the business you run, and prevent criminal activity:

1. Implement Smart Financial Management

Adopting smart money management policies is one way to stop crimes in bars and restaurants. As a result, you must establish a precise system for handling cash, credit cards, and tips and teach your staff how to adhere to it. Here are some instances of wise financial management practices:

• Reduce the amount of cash on hand by storing it in a drop safe or a locked cash register.
• Make regular deposits and vary your bank visits’ times and routes.
• Use alarms and surveillance cameras to monitor and secure your property.
• When receiving tips or pay, employees must present identification and sign receipts.
• Background checks and drug tests should be performed on new hires and periodically on current employees.
• Promote using credit cards and other electronic payment options over cash among customers.

By putting these policies into place, you can lessen the possibility of theft, robbery, fraud, and other crimes in your bar or restaurant.

2. Assessment of Your Environmental Design

The process of planning a space’s physical configuration and aesthetic appeal to affect people’s behavior and discourage criminal activity is known as environmental design. The following key elements of environmental design are:

1. Natural surveillance: This situation is necessary to ensure that the restaurant’s or bar’s interior and exterior are well-lit and visible to staff, clients, and onlookers. This may deter potential offenders from committing crimes because they are more likely to be seen and recognized. Customers and employees may feel more secure and at ease under natural surveillance.
2. Natural access control: It reduces the number of exits and entrances to the restaurant or bar, making them secure and marked. This can stop unauthorized entry and lessen the chances of theft, robbery, or vandalism. Staff can monitor customer traffic and spot suspicious behavior with natural access control.
3. Natural territorial reinforcement: Separating public and private areas and giving the restaurant or bar a clean appearance. This may warn potential offenders that the owners and staff govern the area and that criminal activity is not permitted there. Additionally, natural territorial reinforcement can improve the standing and reputation of the eatery or bar and increase sales.

You can assess your environmental design using tools like checklists, surveys, or audits and seek guidance and advice from authorities or experts. By improving your environmental design, you can lower the likelihood of crimes occurring in your bar or restaurant and make it a safer and more welcoming place for everyone.

3. Make an Internal Video Surveillance Investment

Installing cameras inside is another crucial step in crime and suspicious activity prevention that goes beyond your parking lot and back door. Make sure of the following to get the most from your video surveillance system:

As a result of their unique advantages, various camera systems are perfect for particular applications.

• Wide-angle view and dirt resistance are two benefits of dome cameras.
• Bullet cameras are perfect for low-light settings like a bar because they are compact, narrow and include an infrared illuminator.
• To zoom in on the video when reviewing it, if necessary, a single camera that covers a large area should record the video in a high resolution.
• A minimum of 30 days’ worth of footage should be stored in your surveillance system at a time.

Ensure you know your camera options and which will be most effective in a business environment. Please ask if you need assistance choosing the ideal camera system among your coworkers.

4. Examine the Building’s Security

Although they may seem obvious, double-check the following security features to make sure your bar or restaurant is prepared for security success: turn on a centrally monitored alarm system, give exterior door keys to only the staff members who need them, and check to see if the back door leading to the trash cans has a buzzer to allow reentry or for delivery drivers to drop off supplies.

5. Reinforce In-House Safety and Security Protocols

Simple procedures can keep workers safe while on the job and contribute to crime prevention. For ongoing employee security, review and put these protocols into practice:

1. Regular safety training is necessary to protect your staff and your company. It will keep new and seasoned employees informed about the precautions to avoid criminal activity and the steps to take if an incident occurs.
2. Make wise use of your schedule. No one should ever be left alone in the building, as single employees are easier targets for a robbery. To check for security-related issues and ensure employees arrive at their vehicle or ride home safely at the end of the day, use the buddy system during opening and closing procedures.
3. Plan your time wisely. Nobody should ever be alone in the building because single employees are more likely to become robbery targets. During opening and closing procedures, use the buddy system to look for security-related issues and ensure employees arrive safely at their cars or rides.
4. When finishing nightly duties, staff should adhere to a thorough checklist to ensure the building is as secure as possible. This includes locking all doors after customers have left, searching bathrooms for “stay behinds,” and not allowing anyone back in the building after hours.

Need the protection of the business you run? Horton Group is here.

You put much effort into growing your business and giving customers and employees a fantastic experience. Don’t let criminals sabotage that. By implementing these crime prevention strategies, you can keep your business, customers, and employees safe.

1. https://www.studysmarter.us/explanations/social-studies/crime-and-deviance/crime-prevention/#:~:text=Examples%20of%20crime%20prevention%20techniques,and%20anti%2Dsocial%20behaviour%20orders. 
2. https://info.verkada.com/security-cameras/dome-camera/