How to prevent ram raids – advice for small to medium businesses

How to prevent ram raids and other kinds of crime are pressing concerns for retail businesses throughout New Zealand.

It seems that hardly a day goes by without yet another depressing headline about ram raids on dairies, liquor stores, vape shops and other retail stores.

Stuart Morgan, Armourguard’s National Risk & Compliance Manager, shares his advice on how to prevent ram raids.

Read on to find out…

Fog cannons

Fog cannons are the next most important ram raid prevention technology and, when combined with bollards, will make it difficult – if not impossible – for ram raiders to succeed.

Fog cannons work by limiting what the intruders can see. Once triggered, the fog cannon can rapidly fill the room with a dense cloud of fog or mist resulting in zero visibility.

“Without a doubt, fog cannons installed in ram raided premises have resulted in offenders getting away with very little or nothing at all,” says Stuart. Fog cannons can be brought from and installed by a range of security system providers. Governing funding for fog cannons is available for some small businesses.  See here to find out if your business is eligible.

Bollards help prevent ram raids

The most effective counter measure to ram raids is bollards being installed correctly in front of the premises. Don’t just rely on security grilles alone because they won’t be enough to stop vehicles coming through.

Stuart says it is vital they are properly installed: “If you are installing the bollards yourself then follow the installation instructions to the letter. Otherwise, get an experienced commercial builder to install them and check they have experience in doing so.”

“I would recommend anyone considering using a company to install bollards should check out the company name on the No Cowboys website to ensure there’s no negative feedback about the provider.”

Train for how to keep safe during an attack

Ram raids usually occur after hours when the business is closed. However, criminals are becoming increasingly brazen and raiding during the day.

Stuart says protecting employees / owners is paramount: “Everyone who works in the retail premises should be trained on how to respond to an attack and make themselves safe.

“Have a safe room or area and an escape route to that safe area so employees / owners can quickly and easily get to safety if they feel threatened.”

Remove temptation

Time is of the essence for criminals during ram raids, so keep high-value items on display away from shop doors and windows – especially overnight.

Consider displaying items in cabinets made from reinforced or ballistic glass, which will make it more difficult for criminals to get at them.

Other methods for how to prevent ram raids

Other ways of preventing ram raids include the premises being well-lit inside and out and having high quality CCTV cameras installed.

Having a monitored burglar alarm will automatically alert your security company to any form of break-in, with a security officer being quickly dispatched.