Office
Theft:
Theft
in the office place is not uncommon. Unfortunately, it happens
frequently in one office building or another in the City's Financial
District. Also, for several simple reasons, thefts invariably
increase in frequency during the Christmas season. Usually small
personal items such as checkbooks, wallets, purses, radios, coins
and other easily concealable property are targets. Larger items,
such as clothing, shoes, umbrellas, desk items, gift packages
and clocks are also stolen.
The
reality is that almost anyone can easily enter most offices in
a typical office building and take whatever they want. As with
most office buildings, One Montgomery Tower is open to the public
during the working day, six days each week. Professional thieves
make a specialty of office buildings because the pickings are
easy. If they are bold enough to walk in and act like they belong
there, they can make a living just by strolling through office
spaces and taking personal items.
The
most alert security officer in the building lobby or on patrol
in the building cannot prevent this kind of theft. The solution
to this problem lies within each tenants control. There are some
very effective deterrents to office theft and they are simple
to carry out.
The
following steps will increase the security and safety of everyone
in the office:
Security
Awareness:
It is not uncommon for people to wander through office spaces
who have no business there. Frequently they are lost, just looking
around or are involved in some kind of activity that gives them
legitimate need to see a particular person or be in a specific
place. They may have strayed for perfectly innocent reasons into
other areas. Any employee who does belong in the area should simply
ask strangers who they are looking for or how they might be of
assistance. This security awareness act on the part of employees
will typically prevent a great deal of theft in offices and in
retail environments, according to studies done by the American
Society for Industrial Security. A would-be thief will generally
leave empty handed when he has been "greeted" (i.e.
observed or notice). It is the employee who does belong in an
area who can most easily prevent crime.
Reception
Areas:
Traffic into or out of an area should be funneled through places
where company employees may observe who is coming and going. When
non-company individuals pass through, they should be greeted and
asked who they wish to see, or where they are planning to go.
Coupled with proactive efforts on the part of employees in general,
this traffic-control measure extends the effectiveness of theft
prevention to even greater levels.
Locking
Valuables:
Almost every case of personal theft from office spaces in One
Montgomery Tower involves the theft of an item that was left on
a desk or shelf. Many were in a jacket pocket left hanging in
an office, in an unlocked desk drawer or simply sitting on an
office or cubicle floor. The common denominator here is that anyone
who wanted the item could have taken it easily. The solution is
to avoid leaving valuable personal items lying in plain sight
or in unlocked desk drawers. Put them away in locked drawers or
cabinets. Don't leave wallets, check books or purses lying around.
If your office or cubicle is not usually locked, it is "publicly"
accessible.
The
security people down in the lobby can easily detect grossly undesirable
visitors and send them away. They cannot, however evaluate all
others for personal honesty nor can they tell if an individual
is entering the building for entirely legitimate purposes. If
you would leave your personal belongings in your open, unlocked
office and desk, it is nearly equivalent to leaving them in the
hallway or the elevator lobby. While it is surely inconvenient
to lock things up when you leave your area there is no other more
effective way of protecting your possessions. We have very few
recorded cases on file of breaking into an office, desk, briefcase
or locked cabinet.
Reporting
Suspicious People:
The role of the security team is to stop, identify, detain and
question those individuals who are in our building with no clear
reason for their presence. Whenever this kind of situation arises
call the Building Security Department at 398-1495. Security
will respond immediately to confront the intruder to find out
if they have legitimate business. When it is determined that they
have no real purpose in being on our property, security will escort
them away.
The
employee who calls building security should not confront the individual
beyond the initial greeting, or take in-depth measures to determine
the suspicious person's intentions. Security people will do those
things. But the security people must rely on the Tenant to identify
persons who do not belong here.
Reporting
Thefts:
All thefts should be reported to the Building Security Department.
In many cases, the theft report adds information which helps us
identify a trend or a consistency which leads us to the thief,
or gives us clear direction in preventing further thefts of that
type. Whether or not the stolen item is of significant value,
information about the theft may be of great value. Building security
will respond promptly and take a complete theft report on any
item stolen. Those reports are reviewed, compared and correlated
in efforts to determine who is stealing on our property. We genuinely
want to catch people who steal, but statistics and experience
show that the most effective measures in stopping theft are preventive
ones.
Internal
vs. External Theft:
Most thieves look like ordinary people. Some street people steal,
some blue collar workers steal, some white collar people steal,
some distinguished business executives, artists, public officials
and senior citizens steal. Most people do not steal, but there
is no way to distinguish thieves from other people. It is very
unlikely that stolen goods will be recovered and it is nearly
impossible to catch a thief in the act. A co-worker might steal
repeatedly and never be caught. The solution: Lock your valuables
and challenge strangers!!
INCIDENT
REPORT
To provide an accurate record of every incident, One Montgomery
Tower staff is required to write an incident report for any accident,
theft, or other incident occurring on the property. We would appreciate
your cooperation in answering any questions the building staff
may have.
ONLINE
FIRE & LIFE SAFETY PRESENTATION
This custom multimedia presentation for Post Montgomery Center includes life
safety information that is specific to your building and geographic location.
The objective of the presentation is to provide you with essential information
that will help you during a crisis
event. CLICK HERE
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