Best Practices for Retail Security During the Holiday Rush

The holiday season is a time of increased foot traffic and shopping enthusiasm, but it’s also a period of heightened security concerns for retailers. The influx of customers brings greater risks of theft, fraud, and general security issues that require a proactive approach.

Shoplifting and retail theft now account for an annual loss of $5 billion, raising alarms for the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) as incidents become increasingly bold and violent, with some involving weapons. This can become a more prevalent problem during the holidays as many shoplifters aim to steal during the holiday rush to blend in with the crowd.

Implementing effective security practices protects assets and ensures everyone a safe and smooth shopping experience. Here are some strategies to safeguard your retail space during the holiday rush.

Strengthen Employee Identification Systems

One of the most effective security measures is having a clear and robust identification system for all employees. During the hectic holiday season, when seasonal staff are often added to the team, using employee ID cards is essential for verifying the identity of individuals within restricted or sensitive areas.

A good ID system ensures that only authorized personnel access specific parts of the store, reducing the likelihood of internal theft or unauthorized access to stock rooms. Investing in high-quality ID cards and training employees on the importance of wearing them can help reduce confusion and prevent issues before they arise.

Customer Engagement Strategies

Engaging with customers can be a powerful strategy to deter theft. By promoting friendly communication and creating a welcoming environment, retailers can foster customer loyalty and satisfaction, which naturally discourages shoplifters. When staff members are attentive and interact with customers, it reduces theft opportunities while enhancing the shopping experience.

Implementing morning huddles or shift meetings to discuss potential threats and security measures can prepare employees to recognize suspicious behaviours and respond effectively.

Moreover, establishing an open line of communication between staff and management encourages employees to report any concerns, making everyone feel more empowered and vigilant.

Use Custom Security Products for Tailored Protection

Every retail store has its own layout, stock, and customer flow patterns, meaning that security needs can vary significantly from one store to another. Incorporating custom security products from Avon Security Products into your security plan is an excellent method for retailers looking to address these unique needs.

From customized surveillance setups to alarm systems designed to fit a specific layout, tailored security solutions can optimize coverage and improve response times. For instance, a store with high-value electronics may need more focused security on specific displays, while a clothing store might benefit from anti-theft tags.

Implement Strong Return and Refund Policies

Retailers should establish clear return and refund policies to minimize losses during the holiday season. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), retailers in the U.S. experienced an estimated revenue loss of $816 billion in 2022 due to consumers returning 16.5% of their merchandise purchases.

A well-structured return policy helps manage holiday purchases effectively and also serves as a deterrent against return fraud. This includes requiring proof of purchase and implementing a return authorization system to track returns accurately.

Training staff on refund procedures and scrutinizing suspicious return requests is vital. Additionally, setting specific time limits and offering store credit for returns can help mitigate losses while ensuring a fair and efficient process for genuine customers.

Enhance Surveillance and Monitoring Systems

During the holiday rush, increasing surveillance coverage is crucial to keep up with the increased activity. Adding extra cameras at entry and exit points, checkout areas, and high-traffic zones can deter potential thieves and give security personnel a better view of the store.

Real-time monitoring can also allow for immediate response if suspicious behaviour is observed. Modern surveillance systems offer advanced features like facial recognition and tracking, which can help identify repeat offenders. Remember, visible surveillance can be as much of a deterrent as the presence of security personnel.

Train Staff on Security Awareness

Retailers can greatly reduce theft and improve overall store safety by educating staff about potential security risks and teaching them how to handle suspicious activity. Employees should be encouraged to be vigilant, especially in high-risk areas, and trained to follow a precise protocol when they spot potential security issues.

During the holidays, when extra or temporary staff may be on hand, consider conducting refresher courses or brief security sessions to ensure everyone is on the same page. Security training for employees can also include protocols on handling high-volume crowds and what to do in an emergency, which is vital during the holiday season.

Optimize Store Layout for Visibility

A well-thought-out store layout improves the shopping experience and may contribute to enhanced security. Arrange displays and shelves to allow clear sightlines across the store, especially near exits and corners where visibility can be limited. This reduces the number of blind spots and will enable employees and security personnel to monitor customer activity easily.

An organized and visible layout also discourages would-be thieves, as they are less likely to attempt shoplifting when they feel exposed. Simple adjustments to the design can go a long way in reducing theft without impacting the aesthetic or functionality of the retail space since store environments can affect shoplifting crime.

ID Cards for VIP and Backstage Access: How to Manage Privileged Areas with Ease

There’s a rising demand for live music in Canada, with people increasingly interested in concerts, festivals, and performances across genres. This trend reflects a desire for social interaction, artist connection, and immersive cultural experiences.

This also means a bigger need for security, as these concert venues will likely have privileged areas where only certain people can enter. ID cards for VIP and backstage access are essential tools for managing and securing privileged areas at events and venues. These cards serve multiple purposes, from providing authorized access to ensuring the safety of individuals and the event itself.

By clearly distinguishing between different levels of access, ID cards help streamline the movement of individuals within these restricted areas, preventing unauthorized access and potential security breaches.

Designing Effective Credential Cards

Several factors must be considered when designing credential cards for VIP and backstage access to ensure their effectiveness and security. The design should incorporate elements that are easily recognizable and difficult to counterfeit. This includes using high-quality materials, incorporating holograms or watermarks, and choosing colours and designs that align with the event’s theme while maintaining clarity.

When you choose Avon Security Products for your venue’s security, you will find that we offer a range of advanced security features that can be integrated into credential cards, such as RFID technology and unique serial numbers. These features help track and verify the authenticity of the cards, thus enhancing overall security and efficiency.

Implementing Access Control Systems

Effective access control systems are crucial for managing VIP and backstage areas. These systems use ID cards as part of a larger security framework, often involving electronic card readers and real-time monitoring software.

By integrating ID cards with these systems, event organizers can automate granting or denying access based on the credentials presented. This speeds up the entry process and reduces the risk of human error.

Access control systems can significantly enhance concert security and be valuable for security personnel at the event. These systems ensure that only authorized personnel and guests can enter restricted areas, thereby maintaining the safety and integrity of the event.

Maintaining and Updating Access Records

Regular maintenance and updating of access records are vital for the effective management of privileged areas. This involves keeping track of which ID cards are issued, their status, and any changes in access permissions. A robust system for managing these records is essential, as outdated or incorrect information can lead to security lapses.

Avon Security Products provides solutions that offer real-time updates and integration with other security systems, making managing and monitoring access records easier. This helps ensure that only those with current and valid credentials can access VIP and backstage areas, maintaining a secure environment.

Training Staff for Effective Use of ID Cards

Training staff on the proper use and management of ID cards is integral to maintaining security in VIP and backstage areas. Staff should be well-versed in the various features of the credential cards, including how to verify their authenticity and handle them appropriately. This training should also cover the procedures for issuing, retrieving, and deactivating ID cards.

Event organizers can prevent unauthorized access and ensure that the security measures in place are effective by ensuring that all personnel are knowledgeable about these processes.

Best Practices for Preventing Internal Theft in the Workplace

Internal theft is a serious concern for businesses of all sizes. Employees who steal can cause significant financial damage and harm the trust and morale within a workplace. Employee theft accounts for 30% of business failures, costing Canadian employers over $120 billion annually.

Implementing effective strategies to prevent internal theft is crucial for maintaining a secure and productive environment. Here are some best practices for preventing internal theft in the workplace. Implement

Implement Comprehensive Security Measures

A robust security system is the foundation of preventing internal theft. Start by investing in the latest products to improve security, such as advanced surveillance cameras and alarm systems. These systems should be strategically placed to cover all vulnerable areas, including cash registers, inventory rooms, and employee access points.

Up-to-date security technology, especially ones supplied by Avon Security Products, cts as a deterrent and ensures that any suspicious activities are promptly detected and addressed. Review and upgrade your security infrastructure regularly to stay ahead of potential threats.

Establish Clear Policies and Procedures

Clear and comprehensive policies and procedures are vital for preventing internal theft. Develop a detailed employee handbook that outlines acceptable behaviour, reporting procedures, and the consequences of theft. Ensure that all employees are aware of these policies and understand their responsibilities.

Review and update your policies regularly to address new risks and incorporate best practices. Having well-defined guidelines in place helps set expectations and provides a framework for addressing theft-related issues.

Utilize Access Control Systems

Access control systems are essential for managing who has access to different areas of your business. Incorporating proximity cards from Avon Security Products into your access control system can help restrict access to sensitive areas to authorized personnel only. These cards work by granting access based on proximity, reducing the risk of unauthorized entry. Ensure that access permissions are reviewed regularly and adjusted based on employee roles and changes in responsibilities. Controlling access points can significantly reduce the chances of internal theft.

Conduct Regular Audits

Regular audits are crucial for identifying discrepancies and potential theft. Implement routine checks of inventory, cash handling procedures, and financial records. To ensure objectivity, audits should be thorough and conducted by individuals who are not directly involved in the areas being audited.

Foster a Culture of Integrity

Creating a culture of integrity is a proactive way to combat internal theft. Encourage open communication and transparency within your organization. Employees should feel comfortable reporting suspicious behaviour without fear of retaliation. Regular training on ethical conduct and the consequences of theft can reinforce the importance of integrity. Promoting a positive work environment where honesty is valued will help deter employees from engaging in dishonest activities.

Monitor Employee Behaviour

Monitoring employee behaviour can provide valuable insights into potential theft. While maintaining privacy and respecting boundaries, look for any unusual behaviour or signs of distress that may indicate underlying issues. Employee behaviour can sometimes be a red flag for internal theft, especially if it deviates from their usual conduct.

This vigilance is essential during high-risk periods, such as the holiday season, when theft over the holiday season may become more prevalent due to increased stress and temptation. Implementing anonymous reporting systems can also help employees report any concerns they may have about their colleagues without fear of being identified.

Invest in Ongoing Security Training

Ongoing security training is essential for keeping employees aware of potential threats and best practices for preventing theft. Schedule training sessions regularly that cover the latest security technologies, procedures, and the importance of reporting suspicious behaviour.

Keep employees informed about the latest products to improve security and how they can contribute to maintaining a secure workplace. Investing in continuous education ensures that your team remains vigilant and prepared to address any security concerns.

How to Conduct a Comprehensive Security Audit

Heavy door with a restricted sign on it

A security breach can cause no shortage of major and minor problems for companies, non-profits, governmental offices, and anywhere else. Customers may feel less safe working with them in the future, investing their time and money.

Employees may also feel less secure when they’re on the job. The effects of a breach can be financial, psychological, and more. When it comes to security, it’s much better to be proactive and comprehensive before the problem arises. No matter how comprehensive you are after the fact, by then, it’s too late.

Here are a few tips about how to conduct a comprehensive security audit to improve company security.

1. Assess the Scope

What potential vulnerabilities does an organization have? Avon Security provides concrete solutions for tangible, physical breaches. We offer a range of proximity cards and other technologies to ensure that only authorized people can enter restricted spaces.

In this digital world, hacks and cybersecurity are another major potential vulnerability. Analyze where you stand in terms of physical and cyber weaknesses.

2. Prevent a Breach

Once you’ve identified a potential breach, plugging it is essential. Avon Security’s visitor management protocols ensure that guests in the building only reach the physical spaces they’re authorized to be.

Corporate espionage and blackmail are real threats. Keeping unauthorized people out of restricted spaces is the bedrock of workplace safety.

Our proximity cards and other similar technologies also help ensure that your employees can’t enter restricted areas, either. It’s very easy to quickly update the level of access their proximity card grants.

In other words, if an employee gets promoted, their card can be reprogrammed to open new doors they couldn’t open before. If they get terminated, their card can be reprogrammed to stop working altogether.

3. Monitoring Threats

Another important way to add protection to your workplace involves monitoring equipment, like CCTV cameras, for physical threats or layers of digital protection for cybersecurity risks. If a would-be intruder sees a camera, they may feel deterred from entering a restricted area.

If they do break in, the video recording can help identify the perpetrator and protect the company after the fact. There are a few common security mistakes companies and other organizations make — surveillance cameras can help prevent a break in, or help after the fact.

4. Test it Works

Once you’ve determined potential vulnerabilities and have a few plausible solutions, test to see that your system is secure. For physical breaches, make sure that your proximity cards open doors they’re supposed to and keep you out of ones they’re not meant to.

Cybersecurity involves running tests for the specific threats and vulnerabilities your organization faces. Or hopefully, faced.

Organizations have much to lose from a security breach. There is sensitive, proprietary data that must be kept confidential. Security prevents blackmail and extortion. Your employees need to feel comfortable and at ease in their places of work to put in the best performance. Consider the above tips for a comprehensive security audit and your workplace should be totally secure.

Essential Security Features Every Hotel and Resort Should Have

Picture of a resort pool

Is there anything better than being on vacation in a great hotel or resort? All your ordinary stresses and responsibilities vanish. The only thing you need to do is relax with family, friends, or whoever you’re travelling with.

The story can change quickly if there’s some kind of break-in. When a guest’s room gets broken into, their elevated feeling of relaxation and celebration will come to a screeching halt. However, hotel guests don’t want to feel safe only because they’re jumping through elaborate hoops, either.

Such feelings only reinforce the idea that they’re surrounded by danger, and that’s not a pleasant consideration. On a basic, practical level, it’s annoying and time-consuming.

Proximity cards are essential security features that let hotels and resorts have it both ways.

Security Made Easy

Guests want access to their hotel rooms to be quick and easy. Proximity cards facilitate just that. All they need to do is give one tap to their door card reader, and they’re in.

There’s no elaborate process with identity verification. From the hotel’s standpoint, they can print new cards if they get replaced, unlike with old-fashioned metal keys. Proximity cards make it easy for everybody.

The Protection Works

Proximity cards aren’t just easy or efficient. They’re also extremely secure. Ours work with standard and HID proximity accessories, and they’re compatible with the country’s most sophisticated readers and computer networks.

Each proximity card is programmed to contain a unique sequences of numbers inside. When the card reader verifies that there’s a match between the card and the numbers stored on its database, the door will open.

Unlike doors protected by physical keys, these types of locks cannot be picked. Hotels and resorts have used proximity cards for years, but todays are more sophisticated, providing even better security than ever. Connect with Avon Security to buy popular security products and see which proximity cards and more are right for you.

Security for Employees, Too

Hotels and resorts need to provide total security for their guests, which also entails ensuring that employees are who they say they are. Hotels and resorts need to ensure that only authorized people can access certain spaces.

Having secure ID cards for hotel employees is a crucial step to guaranteeing that guests are safe. Hotel employees should be safe among each other, and keeping out unauthorized people from restricted spaces helps to protect everybody.

Thieves understand that when people travel, they bring cash, jewellery, or other valuables. Don’t let thieves disguise themselves as employees or get anywhere near your premises.

Hotels and resorts are supposed to provide an enjoyable, care-free experience for all guests. It doesn’t matter whether they’re one or five stars, or how much it costs to stay per night. Security is essential. Get in touch with Avon Security to determine which type of proximity cards and other products are right for your hotel or resort. Your guests and employees will be happy you did.

Creating a Safe School Environment: The Role of Visitor Management

At their core, robust security systems are about peace of mind. Businesses use security systems to ensure no assets, trade secrets, or company equipment get stolen. Events use them to make sure attendants are safe and authorized for admission. The list goes on.

However, there is one area where “peace of mind” takes on an even more significant meaning: schools. Parents want to know that their kids are safe—whether those kids are daycare attendants, elementary students, high school teens, or fully grown university goers. It is the role and responsibility of schools to protect this most vulnerable, precious class of people.

And one of the best ways to protect them is with a visitor management system. The best visitor management solutions combine reliable hardware like time-sensitive badges and access control readers with cutting-edge software. Crucially, they allow only authorized individuals to be on the premises while recording a detailed log of visitor records.

In this post, Avon Security Products explores the manifold roles of a great visitor management system in keeping our schools safe.

Controlled Access: Reducing Intruder Risks and Elevating Student Safety

Perhaps the most significant role of a visitor management system is gatekeeping. It is a foolproof way to keep unwanted people, including intruders, out of schools.

These systems instantaneously sort authorized individuals from unauthorized individuals by scanning either expiring or non-expiring badges. As such, they head off any potential threats before they have an opportunity to get through the door.

Custodial Responsibility: Authorizing Pick-Ups and Drop-Offs

Expiring badges (that is, badges only authorized for set periods of time) are a fantastic way to manage custodial responsibility.

Naturally, parents do not want unauthorized people picking up their children and taking them away. Yet, every day, parents send custodians to retrieve kids from school—grandparents, older siblings, family friends, etc. To manage who can pick up and drop off kids, a visitor management system with expiring ID cards for schools grants temporary authority to individuals expressly authorized by parents.

Visitor Records: Reference and Investigation Data

Let’s say a kid decides to play hooky (a tale as old as time). Or, more concerningly, let’s say there was an incident at the school. In these unfortunate cases, parents and administrators (and occasionally law enforcement) would want to access in/out logs for reference and investigation.

Sophisticated visitor management systems allow these authorities to track the traffic at the door, thereby establishing timelines that aid in both internal and official investigations.

Attendance Logs in Case of Drills and Emergencies

In/out logs also play a critical role during drills and emergencies. They can inform school administrators who entered vs. who left the building to help them account for every student. This is especially relevant in higher education settings where the students themselves carry badges.

Pre-Approvals for Seamless Safety

Lastly, visitor management systems pre-authorize individuals for a seamless system of granting access. No more lengthy sign-in processes or manual logs stacked away in towering file cabinets. This turnkey approach to visitor management frees up administrators to focus on their core competencies, including managing student safety in other ways.

Curious about implementing a visitor management system in your school? Visit the Avon Security Products main page to buy security products in Canada, or contact us for more information. Together, we can make schools a safe, seamless place to nurture young minds.

Best Strategies for Improving Bank Branch Security

The leading motivator for theft and many other violent crimes is money. As such, banks have always had a proverbial target on their backs; as storehouses for large sums of money, they attract an outsized number of intrusion and theft attempts.

As the saying goes, the best offence is a good defence. Improving your bank branch security goes a long way toward deterring crime, as most criminals will not target places with precise and rigorous security measures in place.

Below, your security experts at Avon Security Products discuss five winning strategies for keeping employees, clients, and reserves safe.

Train Employees in Security Protocols

While the right tools and systems can elevate security, ultimately, it is the employees who will determine the overall safety of your bank branch. After all, the employees set, monitor, update and use these security systems.

As such, the first strategy is to formalize training programs, like emergency response and suspicious behaviour recognition; this can be accomplished internally or through third-party certification. Either way, security should be a significant portion of your onboarding process. Next, execute regular drills and updates to training materials to keep safety top-of-mind for employees.

Implement Proximity Cards for Employees

If you own or manage a bank branch, you should strongly consider proximity cards for employees. Essentially, proximity cards are access control systems that use contactless cards/fobs to a) authorize entry into various rooms, vaults, and restricted-access areas and b) track the various comings and goings in these areas for posterity.

Each card is uniquely coded, making it nearly impossible to duplicate, and the systems can be scaled to accommodate multiple employees (across branches, if necessary). Importantly, you can integrate them with other security measures like surveillance cameras, alarm systems, and time and attendance tracking to achieve a holistic overview of your branch’s safety.

Install Advanced Surveillance Systems

Surveillance systems are one of the linchpins of bank security. However, too often, banks allow their surveillance systems to become outdated before replacement, leaving glaring vulnerabilities in your security.

Consider modern technologies like HD cameras and facial recognition for enhanced peace of mind. Ensure that continuous monitoring/recording is built into your security protocols. And brush up on industry best practices for camera placement and coverage (something the parent corporation should provide), including limiting blind corners and strengthening visibility with dusk-to-dawn lighting.

Strengthen Physical Barriers and Access Points

Robust doors, windows, and vaults are a must in any bank branch, as are tamper-proof locks. Update these access points along with a thorough proximity card system to ensure reliably restricted access across sensitive branch areas.

Conduct Regular Security Risk Assessments

Recently, we wrote a think piece on why businesses should conduct security risk assessments regularly. (The full article is available to read at the link.) In it, we highlight the immense importance of routine—routine checks, routine maintenance, routine updating, etc.

These remain evergreen pieces of advice, especially for banks. As you’ve done with protocols in the first section, systematize these assessments according to a consistent schedule so you never fall behind.

To summarize, banks need to be especially vigilant in the fight against crime. To improve branch security, consider elevating your access control systems, surveillance, training, assessments and physical access points.

Essential Security Measures for Large-Scale Festivals and Parades

man with young daughter on his shoulders enjoying a festival

There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere of a large festival or parade. When thousands converge on the same place for the same reason, there’s a type of hum in the air so palpable people can feel it. Whether the event is a Santa Claus Parade or Jazz Fest, it attracts like-minded people which produces a real buzz.

If you’re putting on the event, you have certain responsibilities towards staff and attendees and can’t just sit back and enjoy the show. When it comes to security for high-profile events like festivals or parades, the organizers need to be mindful and attentive. Avon Security Products can help make your next event seamlessly secure.

Let’s check out how proximity cards and ID badge holders can help protect attendees and the festival organizers.

Proximity Cards for Staff

Festival and parade staff can access sensitive areas other people can’t be. It’s crucial to put up a barrier to enforce access. Otherwise, trespassers can steal sensitive information or harm staff, attendees, or the festival’s hired acts.

Proximity cards and ID badge holders are excellent ways for people to prove they have permission to access specific spaces. With one tap, they can get into any space they’re designated to be.

VIP sections and Backstage Access

Some festivals and parades need more granular control over who can go where. There could be a VIP section restricted for people who pay a premium or a backstage area reserved just for the hired acts and certain friends and relatives.

Security doesn’t end once people are granted entry into the event. Out best security products make it easy for event organizers to control access, ensuring VIPs and those close the talent are free to roam as they please without subjecting themselves to a lengthy inspection at the door or worrying that unauthorized people will be in a restricted space.

Compatibility Isn’t an Issue

Festival organizers need to identify and prevent any potential problems from occurring wherever possible. Crowd control can be an issue if the gathering is truly large.

If employees, artists, and even the crowd themselves carry our ID cards or proximity cards, you know they’ll be compatible with any standard or HID proximity card reader.

We can customize your cards, so they reflect your unique facility code and match your required card format’s reader, whether 26-bit or 172-bit. The embedded metallic antenna coil technology ensures constant access and alignment between the cards people hold and the reader itself, so all employees, artists, and guests can enjoy a safe and seamless experience.

Putting on a wonderful event like a festival or parade is complicated enough as it is. There are many moving pieces to sort out, from basic logistics to complicated questions like trying to book the right talent. Avon Security is happy to simplify all your security concerns, so people can feel effortlessly safe. The rest of the festival is up to you, but we have your back when it comes to security.

Customization and Branding: How to Make Proximity Cards Unique to Your Business

team at work putting their hands together in a huddle

Every business understands the importance of advertising its products. The public, especially specific demographics, need to know what it has for sale. However, branding transcends this practical need.

Companies that brand themselves successfully implant in people’s minds a certain high ideal about that business’s personality, dynamic, and status. Branding is about cementing in people’s thoughts what the company is like, not what it currently has for sale.

Avon Security takes designing eye-catching ID cards seriously, helping companies brand themselves by customizing a very visible, physical thing employees wear every day. Let’s take a closer look at how our custom ID cards work and how they can help your business.

Employee Morale

Savvy companies understand that branding begins internally. When your own employees and personnel believe in the company’s vision, other people will, too. There’s a pressing need to cement the company brand in their employee’s minds.

Avon Security’s customized security products protect your business while adding a crucial element of company flair. Employees need to carry their lanyards and ID cards with them throughout the day, which gives these things a very large and prominent presence.

Think of custom proximity and ID cards like mini billboards employees bring with them wherever they go, Monday-Friday. The high saturation of company imagery helps solidify the importance of the business’ ideals and logos.

Proximity and ID Cards for Security

Of course, enhanced security with proximity card technology is the main reason companies use our products, but this is also connected to corporate branding. That your company image will be plastered on the very things that give employees an effortless sense of security helps plant deeper roots for your company brand.

On an unconscious or subliminal level, it can only be a positive thing that employees and executives feel in innate connection between their security and the company values. For this to work, the proximity cards need to deliver genuine security, and thankfully, they do.

Avon Security Products designs custom-printed proximity cards compatible with many access reader formats, like 26-bit, 35-bit, and 172-bit. We also offer clients a wide selection of cards and accessories to choose from, like HID proximity cards, clamshell cards, wristbands, key fobs, and more.

Our proximity and ID cards use embedded metallic antenna coils to store encoded data. The unique sequence of numbers on each card is read by an HID proximity card reader, and when there’s a match between the card’s numbers and the company database, the doors unlock.

We’ll ensure that your cards and card readers are all compatible so employees and executives enjoy effortless security at a single tap of their cards.

Marketing campaigns have changed over the years, but instilling company values among employees and customers is a more fundamental underlying goal. Companies need to ensure their workplace is safe, so if you’re looking to keep secure in a way that also improves your branding and promotes a sense of identity, connect with Avon Security Products today.

5 Essential Security Measures for Canada Day Events

Woman standing by Banff lake, wrapped in Canadian flag

Canada Day is a fun day for people to get together with family and friends and enjoy some festivities. Guest and attendees may reflect on what Canada Day means to them, or perhaps they just want to have some fun.

They might not be thinking about security, but that’s where we come in. Let’s look at 5 essential security measures every Canada Day event needs.

1. Screening Guests

Depending on where the event is held, there’s almost always a need to ensure that guests aren’t carrying restricted items, which means they need to be screened. Small, local parties in a public park are one thing. But any larger event requires ensuring guests aren’t bringing anything dangerous that can be used as a weapon.

Be mindful to give yourself additional time before the event, as you may need to pass through a metal detector or be searched by security.

2. Communication

Security will be much easier and faster if there are proper communication channels established in the first place. In other words, people should know in advance what not to bring so the security lines are shorter.

Ideally, you have some type of contact or way of reaching your audience before the event. Let them know about all the fun things to expect the day of and what not to bring.

3. Proximity Cards

Companies or institutions holding a professional event may need to screen security personnel beforehand or have a way of ensuring that all guests are company employees. When it’s a work function, security measures for summer events may require a proximity card or corporate ID.

The nature of the event will dictate who is supposed to attend. If it’s a looser event where employees bring family and friends, you may prefer lanyards for ID cards instead of a card employees must carry on the job.

4. Water and Washrooms

All large events need to be planned to provide the fundamentals to a large number of people. Nothing is more basic than having water to keep them hydrated and somewhere to go when nature calls.

It can even become a security issue if the lines for these things get too long, as it creates bottlenecks that could be a fire hazard. It’s easier to focus on delivering shiny gimmicks or tech tricks, but no event can afford to ignore people’s basic needs.

5. Dress for the Weather

Nobody wants to get sick at any festivities or events. If it’s raining, bring a jacket or umbrella so you don’t catch a cold or stay uncomfortable all day.

Bring sunblock and a wide hat if it’s blue skies and sunny out. You don’t want to get sunstroke. In other words, no matter what the weather is, check the forecast and dress appropriately.

Canada Day can be a joyous time to relax with friends and family and have some fun. Some reflect on everything it means to be a Canadian. However you choose to spend it, connect with the best place to buy security products first to enjoy yourself and stay safe.