Crime reduction 

Secure boundaries

Please consider the crime prevention advice below to make sure that your business premises' boundaries are secure.

Fencing

• A perimeter fence or wall should restrict entry to a limited number of places - it should always be under your control.
• There are a variety of fencing systems available.
• The best choices for fence material are: welded mesh, expanded metal or steel palisade. Do not use chain link - this is only useful as a boundary marker.
• The height of the fence should be appropriate to the risk of suffering crime and the location of your business premises. The minimum acceptable height for industrial estate fences is 2.4 metres. These will require planning permission.
• A mesh construction that allows natural surveillance can be used internally and externally. The mesh should be small enough to stop finger or toe holds (people climbing up the mesh construction).
• To protect high security, large-scale or isolated premises, consider electric fencing. This might seem an extreme form of protection, but it is lawful when correctly installed by specialists. It should only be used to address an identified risk. You must get legal and technical advice before installing electric fencing.
• To protect high security premises, use alarm sensors and surveillance technology (such as CCTV). Fences can be linked to alarm monitoring and CCTV systems which allow a small number of security staff to observe large areas of perimeter fencing. These types of fences can also be linked to speakers so that a remote security officer can address or deter an intruder.

Walls and gates

• Walls provide a strong boundary, but they can hide criminal activity and soften sounds. They are also much easier for intruders to climb than fences.
• Your wall protection can be improved by using anti-climb paint and/or topping with rotating cacti or razor wire. You must get legal and technical advice before installing such measures. They look less attractive and can give a more negative impression than well-installed security fencing.
• Gates should be installed to the same height and standard as the fencing or walls. Fit them close to the ground, with anti-lift hinges and good-quality close shackle padlocks and lockable drop bolts on pairs of gates. This can stop someone ramming down the gate.
• The best gate security option is boxed steel gates. These should have no crossbars that an intruder could climb on. Boxed steel gates also offer good natural surveillance.
• Security padlocks should conform to European standard EN12320.
• Consider using gates or barriers to limit access to shared areas at the back of your premises.