Having a safe can be a great benefit towards protecting your valuables in your home or business. This can help provide access to only particular trusted people, help protect the contents from fire damage and of course, help protect against burglars.
While safes can be a fantastic investment, ideally you should make an educated decision when obtaining a safe to suit your needs and what you’re protecting. A cheap safe could have numerous problems that make it far easier for thieves to break into and less resistant to fire or moisture.
In this article, we’re covering security elements to keep in mind when you’re looking to acquire a safe to protect your valuables. As always, get professional advice – an expert can advise you on a quality safe to suit your property and what you’re protecting.
Is the Convenience of a Safe with Wheels Worthwhile?
We’ve seen scenarios where a business gets burnt having obtained a safe with wheels for the convenience of being able to move the safe into position. Generally, the safe only gets moved once into position and then lives there for the rest of its life. That initial portable convenience isn’t doing much for the business but for any burglars, it’s extremely convenient. In one case, burglars moved the safe into a workshop area and used the business’s own tools to cut open the safe.
If you’re purchasing a safe to protect valuables at your property, chances are you may not be moving it any time soon. Even when you’re initially moving it or decide to move it later on, there’s heavy duty trolleys and professionals that can help you move it. Consider a safe that will be difficult for anyone malicious to remove or access. Some safes are made to be fitted into floors or bolted into place.
Get a Safe Suited to Your Needs and the Contents
Not all safes are created equal. Cheap safes generally are just that – cheap. Thin metal, low quality locks and terrible seals are just some of the disadvantages cheap safes can include, making things far easier for any burglars.
When selecting a safe, get a quality safe that’s suited to your requirements. If you’re looking to protect storage drives and other digital material, consider a data and media safe. If you want your safe to be resilient to fire, look at a fire rated / resistant safe. There’s numerous types of safes designed for securing jewellery, guns, depositing cash, use in a hotel environment, use in an office, being hidden in the floor or a wall, being resistant to burglary and many more use cases.
Use a Multi-Layered Approach to Security
A high quality safe can be a fantastic addition to your security. A safe won’t ward off every security problem though. Alongside a safe, implement additional enhancements throughout your property and your security practices.
CCTV installed throughout your property can be a powerful deterrent and can help with finding the criminals if a break in as to occur. Access control systems and intercoms can help with managing who can enter your property, along with logging what time they are accessing your property. Security alarm systems can be very effective if a criminal does break in, disorientating them and alerting anyone in the vicinity or connected to the security network that a breach has been detected.
External of improvements to your property, consider how the actions of you, your staff and / or your family could be bettered on a security front. Loose lips sink ships – as exciting as it could be to talk to people about your new safe and what you keep in it, avoid doing so. The same goes for discussions about the security systems around your home or business.
If you’re a business owner in Victoria, check out the Business and Commercial crime prevention resources and tips from Victoria Police. Included is information about preventing the theft of laptops and other electronic devices, environmental design towards improving security and many other useful tips and resources.
Complement a high quality safe with effective security strategies and you’ll be doing a lot to protect your valuables and your home or business.