You have probably heard about “big city crime” in some manner — maybe from a parent warning you to steer clear of, say, LA or New York City. And while it might sound like parental paranoia, there is some level of truth to that warning. There is a statistical correlation between population density and crime rates. Specifically, the more people there are packed into a given area, the higher the crime rates are bound to be.
Milwaukee may not have the population of other major cities across the country, but we still see an increased rate of annual crimes. As a business owner in the area, it’s important to know what is happening with local property crimes, specifically. With that understanding, you can better protect your property, employees, and assets. Here’s what you need to know about our local crime rates and what you can do for your business:
Property Crimes in Milwaukee
When we talk about property crime rates, those statistics include a range of different crimes including residential burglaries, commercial property break-ins, vehicle theft, larceny, and so on. In Wisconsin as a whole, we have a pretty impressively low property crime rate. Milwaukee, as our capital and as the most populous city in the state, does still see higher rates. What that looks like is, on average, a 1 in 64 chance of being a victim of property crimes across the state as a whole, and a 1 in 33 chance in Milwaukee. While a 1 in 33 chance may not sound that high, especially in comparison to other metro areas, that number is still above the national median (which is a 1 in 24 chance of being a victim of a property crime).
But why do urban areas have higher crime rates? As far as studies have shown, it’s a combination of factors. Part of it is the anonymity of living in an area with higher populations, where fewer people know their neighbors. Another big factor is that the “reward” in relation to the risk is generally higher in cities. And finally, the third major factor is that many “observable factors,” especially social structure — like being able to observe which neighborhoods are wealthier — make it easier to seek out targets.
Protecting Your Business or Commercial Property
The easy answer for providing better protection is to have a security system, or to boost the defenses of your existing system if it works but is older. Of course, with any business, that can be harder to do because you don’t want to keep your customers away with too-stringent security measures. The trickiest part of securing your property is finding the balance between high-tech, super-protective security and having a space that still welcomes customers in.
The best way to go about this is to find a local locksmith who can help you with custom security measures. We might be biased about working with locksmiths, but we recommend going to a commercial/business locksmith because we understand both the high-tech security measures and the mechanical side of things. Working with a local locksmith specifically is a great way to better protect your business because we know the area we serve. You can count on a local locksmith to be up to date on industry advances, and also to be aware of the current property crime trends in your area — which means we can then apply our industry knowledge to help find the right solutions based on those concerns.
Mechanical Access Control Solutions
In order to make sure your business’s security is where it should be, start with the mechanical (i.e. low-tech) security for your space. That includes things like high-security locks, magnetic locks, and master key systems, as well as door closers and emergency push bars. It’s all of the things that help ensure that your doors, especially the exterior doors, close on their own — which provides protection in the face of forgetful employees and customers — and can be well secured. No matter how high-tech your security system is, if the physical locks that secure your doors aren’t pulling their weight, your business is still at a much higher risk of break-ins, burglary, and so on.
Electronic Access Control Solutions
These are the elements you most likely associate with business security systems. Electronic access control includes things like keyless entry locks (including card readers, biometric locks, and more), motion sensors, video surveillance, and other technologically driven solutions. These are the tools that give you greater flexibility in terms of comprehensive control over your security system. That might mean automatic locking, just in case you have forgetful employees, but it’s also a great way to welcome visitors in and take control over how every segment of your space is used — which adds up to provide you with better overall security.
If you’re looking to boost your business’s security, connect with your local Milwaukee locksmith team at Urich Lock today and schedule your consultation.
