Burglary is the most prevalent crime in the country, accounting for 23.8% of the annual estimated number of property crimes committed. According to the FBI, this translates into a burglary occurring roughly every 14.6 seconds, resulting in $4.6 billion in lost property nationally. Protect your cannabis business against burglary with several risk management tactics to stop preventable crime.
The 5 Principal Methods of Risk Management
By utilizing the 5 Principal Methods of Risk Management, all possible risks will be identified, and pragmatic and cost-effective solutions will be put in place to avoid and minimize impact. The five principal methods are:
- Risk avoidance
- Risk reduction
- Risk spreading
- Risk transfer
- Risk acceptance
These include a wide range of steps to take, seen in the following examples:
For risk avoidance, a cannabis business can consider using a catalog instead of having stock in store. Regarding risk reduction, consider setting up an inventory control system based on average sales rates to only stock the minimum product required. To enforce risk spreading, try placing inventory into multiple burglary-resistant safes after closing hours instead of just one. For risk transfer one should purchase the appropriate insurance for their business with comprehensive coverage. Finally, for risk acceptance consider properly utilizing the deductible feature of an insurance policy.
Evaluating Your Risk
The next factor to protection is evaluating your risk. When evaluating possible burglary risks at your facility, you should consider several factors including the area’s burglary rate, the stability of the area, and the security measures in place.
Calculating Loss Potential
Once burglary risk is identified, the loss potential should be calculated by looking at possible maximum loss and probable maximum loss. These two quantitative standards can be used to understand the best- and worst-case scenarios for your business and can help you determine the best way to manage risk and prioritize certain targets. Using loss potential and loss probability, you can start to determine the chances that a specific target item will be stolen based on its demand, concentration, and transportability, to determine the level of protection necessary.
Determining Your Level of Protection
There are six designated levels of protection, with level 1 having the minimum level of protection and level 6 having the maximum. Level 1 mainly focuses on physical security measures, such as perimeter lighting and fencing, whereas level 6 requires a UL-certificated central station safe or vault alarm system with complete protection, 5-10 minutes alarm response by two runners with keys, and standard or encrypted line security.
Utilizing risk management analysis to protect against burglary is the best way to ensure cost-effective mitigation. It is a long and detailed process that requires consistent communication, education, support, and encouragement but you will find that the benefits are well worth it.