Business Security Information

If you do not have a background in security, you might not have heard the term “bollards” or you may have heard the word used and not understood what it meant.  Well, the word “bollard” usually refers to a 4-inch or greater diameter pipe which is usually filled with concrete and is embedded or secured into a concrete base.  Most everyone reading this article has seen a bollard if they have ever been to a Best Buy or other big retail store because they are located at the main entrance.  Refer to the pictures in this article for examples of different types of bollards.

The Purpose of Bollards

I have seen bollards used in three main ways:

1. To protect a store from crash-and-grab types of crimes.  These involve driving a vehicle through the front door or store front of a business and then stealing merchandise and driving back out the same way they came in.
2. To help secure the perimeter of a lot such as car or other types of equipment dealerships. Some of the pictures included in this article show the use of bollards for perimeter protection at a used car lot and equipment dealership.
3. To protect a building from vehicle damage.  You have probably seen bollards located between parking spaces next to a building and the structure itself.  These are used to protect someone from hitting the building by accident.  I have also seen them located on the corner of buildings where a delivery truck may turn too close and hit the corner of the structure.  This use of bollards has little to do with security, but it does help prevent damage to your building.

Security and Bollards

When I was growing up, I heard a lot about smash-and-grabs where someone smashes a window of a business and reaches in and steals items from the business.  For at least the past 10 years, the issue of what is called crash-and-grab has been an issue for businesses to deal with.  Basically, the criminal drives a vehicle through the front entrance which is usually made of glass and metal framing and then loads the vehicle up with high-end merchandise.  The criminal then drives back out of the store.  Most of these crimes take only a few minutes to complete.  I have also seen these techniques used on hardware stores and in mini-marts.  In my experience, ATM’s at mini-marts are usually targeted, and at one hardware store I dealt with, thieves stole a variety of power tools and a safe.

As you can tell from the pictures, when bollards are used to protect the perimeter of a lot, such as a dealership, cable or metal is usually used to tie the bollards together.  This does not have to be the case– bollards can be used by themselves if properly placed.  No matter if you just use bollards or choose to use some type of tie-in such as cable or metal, the purpose of the barriers is to reduce the risk that the merchandise on the lot will be stolen.  This type of setup still allows customers to look at your products on the lot during non-business hours but reduces the chance that vehicles or equipment will be stolen.

Strategically-placed and properly-installed bollards can reduce the risk of these type of crimes occurring.  Bollards must be designed to withstand the amount of force that may be used against it, and they must be placed so that a vehicle or the products on your lot cannot be driven between the bollards.  These are some of the most common mistakes when using bollards.  Please note: if you are trying to improve lot security because you are having a problem with part theft from the merchandise you have stored in your lot, bollards will not help with this issue.  Bollards are mainly meant to keep criminals from driving into your business or to reduce the risk of someone removing merchandise from your lot.  It does not prevent customers or others from walking onto your property.  As I have mentioned before, always use a layered security approach with a variety of security measures to protect your business.

Related posts:

1. Perimeter Security Details
2. Roller Shutters — Security
3. Jamb Pins: Better Exterior Door Security