Two steps to take after your construction site has been broken in to

Construction sites often contain valuable equipment and building materials, much of which is left outside, where it can be accessed with relative ease. Sites are also usually left completely vacant at night and as such, are easier for thieves to break into than residential properties, which are almost always occupied by their owners after dark.

For these two reasons, professional thieves frequently target construction sites. If your site has been broken into, here are two steps you should take immediately afterwards.

Invest in new locks

If the thief broke the locks around the site barrier in order to get inside, you should call your local commercial locksmith and ask them to change the damaged locks immediately. In this scenario, it would not be advisable to install the same lock design that the thief broke through.

Instead, ask the locksmith to recommend a stronger lock which will be harder for other thieves to damage. The lock you select should be weatherproof (to ensure that it does not corrode and weaken when it is exposed to rainwater or fluctuating temperatures) and resistant to picking, cutting, and sawing, as thieves often bring along a collection of tools to help them break through heavy-duty locks.

Reassess your current security measures

It's important not to assume that the break-in was a 'once-off' which won't occur again in the near future. The truth is that if, after the break-in, it becomes public knowledge that the site has security vulnerabilities which have made it easy to burglarise, other thieves could make further attempts to gain entry and steal goods from the site. As such, you should conduct a thorough reassessment of the current security measures you have in place and make improvements where necessary.

If for example, the thieves scaled the barrier in order to enter the site, it would be prudent to replace the existing barrier with anti-climb fencing or timber boards (i.e. barriers which do not feature any kind of footholds which would make it easier for an intruder to scale them)

Likewise, if the thieves were not identified and caught because there are no security guards on the site in the evenings, it might be worth hiring a professional of this kind to monitor the site after dark. If this is not financially feasible, CCTV cameras might be a more affordable alternative; these would enable you to identify any intruders in the future, which would make it easier for the police to apprehend them.