Businesses are under constant pressure to attract more customers, grow revenue, maintain a brand image, keep employees happy, and much more. These problems have a variety of solutions and can be complex in nature, however, one overarching issue that affects all of these concerns is the feeling of being unsafe or uncomfortable on property. If customers or employees feel this way on property, it can lead to them avoiding that place of business, resulting in less revenue, a negative view of the company, and employees leaving for a different company culture.
So what causes these uncomfortable feelings? A common source is people loitering on property. Loitering is defined as standing or waiting around idly or without an apparent purpose. Not only is this a problem logistically when pathways are blocked, but it also causes concerns when it is apparent the person is there for another reason other than to conduct business.
Whether loitering is actually a crime or not has been debated for years, but in reality, the demand for action against loitering comes from residents, not police departments according to the Manhattan Institute. However, as police began to respond to these calls more, they began to receive backlash from other citizens about the use of force for this non-violent crime. Today, especially in high crime areas, police are less likely to respond to loitering concerns. Without a police presence, customers and residents can begin to grow concerned about their environment.
This issue has led many businesses to turn to private security to handle these issues, especially in the convenience store segment. Convenience stores have often been the targets of robberies and other crimes due to the availability of cash and ease of access. In fact, according to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, there were over 25,500 robberies amongst convenience stores and gas stations in 2016, so it makes sense that this industry would invest in extra security measures.
Most businesses immediately think of hiring a security officer to stand on property as a physical presence. However, these dedicated security officers often come at a high price due to the long shifts they are required to work on site. These officers also rarely live up to the expectations, as many do not maintain a professional presence as they space off, fall asleep, and stroll around aimlessly. As businesses quickly reevaluate the value gained by these guards, one company has reimagined how security should look. That company is Signal Security.
Signal specializes in mobile vehicle patrol security, where a highly visible patrol vehicle comes on property multiple times throughout the day or night as an effective means to deter crime. With an industry-leading technology platform that allows clients to see when and where the patrol occurred via GPS capabilities, video and pictures attached to reports, customizable workflows that allow clients to get exactly what they want, and a client dashboard, Signal has truly put their clients first.
“Our residential clients have seen an average of a 90% decrease in crime statistics and police calls after our first 90 days of patrols.” said Mark Arner a local Signal franchise owner.
Obviously, these results lead to an increase in confidence from customers about the business or property. This leads to more customers, more revenue, and a strong brand image which makes it easy to see the value in Signal Security’s services.
For more information on Signal's security services, click here.
