Every city has bouts of vandalism. In December, more than 30 vehicles were vandalized on Pittsburgh’s South Side. In mid-February, more than 100 headstones were vandalized in Philadelphia. And there have been multiple instances of businesses being hit by vandals for a number of reasons – some just claiming to be graffiti artists, others doing damage for more sinister or hateful reasons.
Vandalism Can Be Costly
No matter the damage, or the reason, vandalism can be a difficult and costly hit to your business. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, a single incident of vandalism costs more than $3,000. In many cases, the business owner is then forced to shift costs of the cleanup onto their customers through higher prices; and the vandalism itself can greatly hurt a business if customers begin to believe it is in a higher crime area, or the cleanup process takes too long.
Emergency Property Restoration
However, you do not have to clean it up yourself. And it does not need to take weeks or months to complete. In fact, G.S. Jones is very experiences in emergency property restoration services and can get this job done for you so your business is impacted as little as possible.
If you’re reading this concerned you could be a victim of vandalism in the future or looking to prevent another occurrence, here are some ways you can prevent vandalism before it happens.
Preventing Vandalism
1) Install a security system. This does not have to be an expensive endeavor. There are a number of options available today for security cameras and other similar safeguards. Do your homework and find an option that meets your needs and your budget.
2) Check your locks. Are they old? Are they strong enough? This is especially critical if you have electronic locks – you know, those ones that open with key fobs or a plastic card? Be sure they can only be opened with the correct card or code. If you do have a lock system like this, also be sure you are tracking keys and fobs regularly and making sure none have gone missing.
3) Lighting. Do you turn all the lights off when you leave every night? What about leaving one or two on for security purposes? It is awfully hard for vandals (and burglars) to work in the dark, right? And that extra light could help a passerby spot someone suspicious in or around your business after hours. You could also consider adding some good, old-fashioned motion detection lights.
4) Divert negative activities like vandalism by getting involved in your community. If vandalism is a growing trend in your neighborhood, tap into the “creative” spirit of the area’s youth by setting up a place for them to paint murals and decorate their city, without doing damage to businesses. You can also spearhead setting up a Neighborhood Watch, or even organize a community meeting to talk about recent vandalism and how you can all work together to prevent it, and turn around the negative activity.
