Christmas and Holiday Season Security for Perth Businesses: A Pre-Shutdown Checklist

Why the shutdown period is riskier

An empty building for ten or twenty days is an easy target. Nobody notices a light that’s been on all week, a pile of mail at the door, or a ute that hasn’t moved. Fewer people are driving past, and staff aren’t around to spot the small things that would normally get picked up on a Monday morning.

The good news is that most of the risk can be handled with a few hours of preparation. None of what follows needs special equipment. It just needs someone to actually do it, ideally well before the last day.

Test the alarm and check your monitoring details

Start here, because it’s the one that counts. Arm the system, trip a sensor and confirm the signal actually reaches your monitoring centre. An alarm that beeps happily in the foyer but never reports anywhere is worse than no alarm, because it gives you false comfort.

While you’re at it:

• Check every keypad responds and none is showing a fault.
• Look at the battery status. If the panel has been showing a low battery message for months, deal with it now, not in January.
• Walk the building and make sure no new shelving or stock is blocking a motion sensor.
• Check your key holder list. People move on. If the first name on the call list left in August, fix it today.

If you’d rather have a technician do it properly, book early. Late November and early December fill up quickly. Our alarm monitoring solutions page explains how monitoring and response work if you’re not sure what yours should be doing.

Tell your monitoring centre you’re closing

Ring or email your monitoring company with your shutdown dates, who can be reached over the break, and the best phone number for each person. Give them a second contact who isn’t on holiday in the same place as the first.

If somebody legitimate might be on site, say a cleaner, a patrol or a staff member picking something up, let them know that too. It saves stress and avoids pointless call-outs. And if your system has been going off for no reason lately, sort that before you close. We’ve written a separate guide on why your alarm keeps going off that’s worth a read.

Check your CCTV before you leave

Cameras are only useful if they’re recording. Before you lock up:

• Check every camera has a clear live picture, with no cobwebs, glare or a Christmas decoration hanging in front of the lens.
• Confirm the recorder is recording, and check how many days of footage it holds. If it keeps 14 days and you’re away for 18, you could lose the footage from the day something happens.
• Make sure the date and time are right. Footage with the wrong timestamp is a headache when you hand it to police or your insurer.
• If you can view cameras remotely, test it from your phone while you’re away from the office wi-fi, and make sure you know the login.
• Look at the power. A recorder plugged into a dodgy power board next to the kettle is an accident waiting to happen.

If your system is showing its age, our CCTV solutions page covers what an upgrade involves.

Audit your keys, cards and codes

This is the one most businesses skip, and it’s the one that bites. Before the break:

• Pull a list of every active key and access card. Remove ex-staff, temps and old contractors.
• Change alarm codes and shared PINs if it’s been a while, especially if someone who knew them has left.
• Check nobody has propped a door open with a wedge to make deliveries easier.

If you’re still running on a drawer full of unlabelled keys, a card-based system makes this far simpler, because you can disable a lost or old card in seconds. Our access control solutions page shows how that works.

Walk the perimeter

Do a lap of the building as if you were the one trying to get in.

• Lighting: replace blown globes and test sensor lights and timers.
• Doors and windows: do the locks actually lock? Is anything cracked open for ventilation?
• Roller doors: are they padlocked or electronically secured?
• Fences and gates: any gaps, or side gates left unlatched?
• Overgrown shrubs hiding a door or window are worth trimming.
• Pallets, bins and ladders that help someone climb a fence should be moved.

Also check where the work vehicles are parked. A van or trailer pushed up against a fence makes a handy step.

Stock, cash and equipment

Take cash home or bank it, and leave the till drawer open and empty so nobody has a reason to force it. Lock laptops, tablets and other easy-to-carry items in a safe or secure cupboard, or take them with you. Keep high-value stock away from windows and loading doors.

It’s also worth reading your insurance policy. Some insurers have conditions around extended closures, and you don’t want to find that out after a claim.

Make the place look looked-after

A few small things help. Ask a neighbour or landlord to keep an eye out. Redirect mail and deliveries. Put a couple of internal lights on timers. Clear the car park and doorways of rubbish and junk mail. A tidy, well-lit site tells passers-by that someone cares about it.

Your printable pre-shutdown checklist

• ☐ Alarm armed, tested and reporting to the monitoring centre
• ☐ Keypads and batteries checked
• ☐ Monitoring centre told your closing dates and key holders
• ☐ Cameras clean, recording and showing the right time and date
• ☐ Storage days checked against the length of the shutdown
• ☐ Remote viewing tested from your phone
• ☐ Old keys, cards and codes removed or changed
• ☐ Lights, locks, roller doors and gates checked
• ☐ Cash banked and tills left open and empty
• ☐ Valuable equipment locked away
• ☐ Mail and deliveries sorted
• ☐ Insurance conditions checked

FAQ

How often should alarms be tested?

Many installers suggest a quick user test every month or so, plus a proper service by a technician at least once a year. Check your monitoring agreement, as it may spell out what’s expected.

Can I check my cameras from my phone?

Mostly yes. If your system is connected to the internet and set up for remote viewing, you can see live and recorded footage from your phone. If you’ve never tried it, test it before you leave, not from a beach in Bali.

What happens if the power goes off?

Most alarm panels have a backup battery that keeps them running for a while, depending on the battery’s condition. CCTV recorders usually don’t, unless they’re on a backup power supply. A long outage over the break can leave cameras off, so it’s worth talking about options if you’re away for weeks.