On November 27, 2013, France 2 television news channel aired a report on corporate theft. The various testimonials tended to prove that business theft is a growing crime, as is internal workplace theft.
The reality of workplace burglary
Silicon Salad in Lille was burgled in 2013. The alarm didn"t work, the camera in the room filmed it all. In the middle of the night, 3 hooded men entered the company’s premises and stole several computers in less than 2 minutes. Director Olivier Ferlin, who was tipped off by the cleaning ladies, made the decision to broadcast the video on his website, with the aim of bringing it to people’s attention. The damage was 20,000€. The thieves did not choose the company at random, as the computers used were among the best models and were quickly resold afterwards.
A necessary investment in a security arsenal
After four burglaries, the last of which cost 60,000€, the director of Prodcast TV, Jérôme Sacchi, decided to transform his company"s premises into a bunker, providing many solutions:
- Infrared alarms creating an invisible barrier in front of windows and doors outside the building
- An iron screen inside.
- Alarms, smoke bombs, and an anti-theft cable installed on each computer.
All these measures came to a total of 43,000€ investment. The director did not think he had to invest as much to protect his equipment and his employees, when his company was “just” an SME of 15 people.
Internal theft is also widespread today’s workplaces
Companies and their managers are also worried about theft committed by their own employees. Some sectors are particularly conscious of it.
For example, the warehouses of one of the largest French online shopping sites has maximum security to protect all 20,000 m ² of its site storing of more than €60 million worth of goods. An ultra-secure cage has even been put in place to protect the most tempting products such as smartphones, tablets and other high-tech products.
The 400 warehouse employees must comply with several security rules, such as the passing through a gate and a metal detector like as those found at airports. Employees find these measures normal, and are used to them.
Theft is a major problem for businesses today and a large amount of money is spent on it, both for damage caused and on protection to avoid theft. However, there are no statistics on this subject, and the companies that have been a victim do not want to talk about the theft they have experienced.
At SBE Direct your safety and that of your belongings are our priorities, that is why we have developed the following categories
This way you can ensure the security of your computer and office equipment.
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