Businesses warned not to depend on the luck of the Irish for protection during the St Patrick’s Festival weekend
Last year Netwatch Ireland recorded a 56% increase in business security breaches during March compared to the previous month, February.
A high volume of that increase came from retail and hospitality industries, and businesses with buildings vacant for a time during the month.
Netwatch attributes the increase in March to the St Patrick’s Festival weekend and has warned businesses of a potentially similar increase this year.
The year-on-year incidents recorded by Netwatch showed an increase of 33% from March 2022 to March 2023.
Colin Hayes, Netwatch MD, observes: “Each year, the St. Patrick’s festival weekend concerns our customers as their security requirements increase, particularly for those dealing with increased footfall or numbers. This also applies to vacant buildings during the weekend. We know business owners are concerned for their staff and the overall business, and many have already taken increased measures to protect their assets”.
Netwatch urges businesses to remain vigilant and strengthen their security measures, focusing on prevention and deterrence this long weekend. The company, which provides proactive video monitoring for thousands of client sites in Ireland, advises organisations which will be either open or closed to consider the following actions:
- Check for weaknesses: Address known security vulnerabilities before the long weekend. By analysing the root causes of these breaches, businesses can implement effective countermeasures to prevent incidents during busy periods.
- Access Control: Limit access to certain areas of your business to authorised personnel only and implement keycard or keypad entry systems if necessary.
- Operating Hours: Ensure you inform your security company of any changes operating hours over the St Patrick’s Day weekend.
- Communication Plan: Establish a communication plan for your employees to report any security concerns or incidents promptly. Ensure that there is a designated point of contact for security-related issues.
- Collaboration with emergency response: Work closely with local emergency response agencies to coordinate security efforts and report any suspicious activity promptly.
- Staff Training: Businesses may need temporary staff to handle the increased workload during St. Patrick’s Festival weekend. Proper training on security protocols will be helpful in mitigating risks.
- Post-Event Evaluation: After the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, conduct a thorough evaluation of your security measures to identify any areas for improvement and make adjustments accordingly.
