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Moving to a new home is always going to be a slightly stressful ordeal. Sure, it’s exciting too. But the process of actually moving all your belongings and settling somewhere new—that can be tough.

If you’re set to move in winter, this can cause a few more challenges. You might get better rates from moving companies because it’s their off-peak season, but bad weather and closed roads can make the move a little trickier. And if the heating hasn’t been on, you’re not going to have a warm welcome from your new home.

Here are are some winter moving tips to make moving in winter less stressful.

Communicate with your movers

You might have a date all set for the move, but extreme weather and closed roads can interfere with your plans. In the lead up to your move, keep checking in with your movers about weather or road updates.

Express your concerns if you think the harsh winter conditions might affect your move, and if you don’t think it’s safe to proceed with the move, ask if they can reschedule. The good thing is that fewer people move in winter, so rescheduling will likely be easier.

Have a backup plan

If things don’t go to plan and your moving plans are thwarted by bad weather or closed roads, it can be stressful to sort out plan B on the day. Instead, think about a backup plan before the move, and go over it with your movers.

Your backup plan could include a backup moving date, and a short-term accommodation plan if you can’t move into your new home but have to move out of your old house.

You could also think about alternative travel routes to suggest to your movers if certain roads become blocked or closed.

Make sure your new home is ready for the move

Before you start the move, it’s a good idea to check that everything is in order with your new home. Confirm that all the utilities work. You don’t want to move everything in only to find that you have no electricity, heating or hot water—especially not when it’s freezing outside.

If everything is in working condition, then you should think about how to protect your new home from damage during the move. With movers traipsing in and out, and furniture being moved, it’s a good idea to cover your floors. Covering your floors will protect them from wet and muddy shoes, as well as scuffs.

Don’t bother turning on the heating

When you first walk into your new home and it’s just as cold inside as it is outside, it can be tempting to rush and turn on the heating. But our advice is, don’t. This winter moving tip is about saving you money on wasted heating.

During the move, your doors are going to be open pretty much all day as people come in and out with furniture and belongings.

So even with the heating on, your new home’s going to be cold until the move is complete. And the last thing you want is to blast heating around the house, only to have it go straight out the front door.

Just layer up and brave the cold until the move is complete. This way, you’re not going to waste money trying to heat the house.

Double pack fragile and electronic items

Fragile items like china as well as electronics don’t do too well in the cold. Generally, items become more brittle and are more likely to break when the temperature drops.

So for fragile items and electronics, pack them inside two boxes, and pad the boxes with bubble wrap or tissue paper.

Clear a path to your old and new house

Snow can cause a lot of problems when moving. It can make the walk from the house to the van a dangerous one for you, your movers, and your belongings.

To speed up the moving process and make it a whole lot safer, make sure the pathways to both your old and new home are clear of snow. Look out for ice too, as this can be even more dangerous.

Salt or shovel the pathways to stop any accidents from occurring that might turn moving day into a day in the emergency room.

Take care of your pets

If you’ve got pets, the best way to take care of them during a move is to get them out of the way. A winter move can be difficult and even dangerous if the pathways are slippery, and if your furry friend is running around, it’s not going to make moving items any easier.

They may become tripping hazards or get hurt. So wait until after the move to introduce them to their new home. They’ll be happier out of the way anyway, and you’ll be able to focus on getting everything sorted.

Keep warm clothes and blankets nearby

Some things you don’t want to shove in a box in the moving van are your warm items, like extra layers, blankets, duvets and pillows.

During the move you’re likely going to feel the cold, so you want to have extra layers nearby if you need them. And once the movers are gone, it’s going to take your smart thermostat a little while to heat up the house. Having blankets ready means you can snuggle up until the heating kicks in.

Look after your movers

Moving is a tough job, especially in the winter. Your movers are going to be physically exerting themselves all day, and probably suffering from the cold too. A cup of hot cocoa or even a simple tea or coffee is always appreciated during winter moves.

You should also consider tipping your movers. They will likely charge you less than the normal rate if you’re moving in winter because it’s off season. But they work just as hard, if not harder during the winter.

Looking after your movers will make the move a happier one. And if you look after your movers, they’ll look after you!

Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned veteran, this guide was created to help you identify and prevent shoplifting.

Inventory shrinkage increased to $48.9 billion in 2016, according to a survey conducted by the NRF and the University of Florida.

The study also noted that 23 percent of retailers experienced a shrink rate of 2 percent or greater. And, the trend seem to show no signs of slowing.

The goal of this guide is — not just to highlight the problem — but to provide easy, actionable tips that small and medium-sized business owners can use to keep their premises safe and reduce revenue loss in a cost-effective way.

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

What is Shoplifting?

1. 1. Introduction
   2. The Difficulty with Profiling Potential Shoplifters
   3. Common Shoplifting Methods
   4. How to Identify a Potential Shoplifter

Quick Tips to Prevent Shoplifting

1. Clear, measurable goals
2. Store layout
3. Prudent hiring practices
4. Staff-customer ratio
5. Professional-grade alarm systems
6. Detailed return policy
7. Security cameras
8. Use EAS tags
9. Lighting
10. A personal connection

Introduction

As a small retail business owner, shoplifting — and your approach to preventing it — can have a big impact on your bottom line.

If left unchecked, it can become a significant drain on your business — from lost merchandise to break-ins that require extensive repairs.

Shoplifters can be individuals acting alone or operate in a more organized way with groups of professional thieves working together.

In the retail world, shrinkage, or shrink, is the term used to describe a reduction in inventory due to shoplifting, employee theft, or other errors.

There are four major sources of inventory shrinkage in retail:

• Employee theft
• Shoplifting
• Paperwork errors
• Supplier fraud

Shoplifting: A look at the numbers

According to the National Retail Security Survey, the number one source of shrinkage for a retail business is shoplifting.

(Source: National Retail Security Survey)

Shoplifting, once second to employee theft as the most common source of inventory loss — recently moved into the number one spot.

Retail shops are now investing in various ways to curtail theft and reduce shrinkage.

Security measures such as cameras and digitized tags that set off alarms have helped reduce losses, but fewer shoplifters are stealing more per incident.

The average cost per shoplifting incident doubled in 2017 to $798.48.

(Source: National Retail Security Survey)

Employee Theft

Coming in at a close second to shoplifting is internal or employee theft –when company workers steal or misappropriate funds or goods.

busUnfortunately, this type of loss typically receives far less attention than shoplifting, even though it accounted for 34.5 percent of shrinkage in 2014.

The average dollar loss per dishonest employee was $1,922.80, a 62% increase from 2016.

(Source: National Retail Security Survey)

To combat shrinkage, most retail stores train their employees and often have security equipment in place to deter theft and prevent significant losses.

Loss prevention can include everything from locks and fire exits to security caches and electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags. It may also include a particular strategy or approach such as access control, executive protection plans, cybersecurity, and crisis management strategy.

The Difficulty with Profiling Potential Shoplifters

According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, there is no single shoplifter profile.

Men and women steal equally as often, and seventy-five percent of all shoplifters are adults.

Appearance alone does not indicate intent.

There are many stereotypes related to types of shoplifters that target age, race, and gender. However, a study from the University of Florida found many of these are untrue.

In reality, most shoplifters are middle-aged and earn a respectable wage at their day job. Treating all shoppers with the same level of trust and respect is essential for any successful retailer.

Terrence Shulman, founder and director of the Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending and Hoarding, focuses on behavior and motivation to categorizes shoplifters into seven groups:

• Addictive-compulsive shoplifters who suffer from anger issues
• Impoverished people who steal out of economic need
• Thrill-seekers who shoplift for the adrenaline rush
• Drug, alcohol or gambling addicts who steal to fuel their habit
• Kleptomaniacs who steal out of compulsion
• Absent-minded people who simply aren’t aware of their actions
• Professionals who steal for profit

Regardless of a shoplifter’s underlying motivations, it’s the habitual offenders who cost businesses the most.

Their focus tends to be on stores that lack the proper training and security equipment to make shoplifting difficult and record or track criminal activity in their store.

A survey of 20,926 adult and juvenile non-professional shoplifters revealed that 27 percent of shoplifters are habitual repeat offenders who steal on a daily or weekly basis. This fraction is responsible for about 90 percent of the nonprofessional losses and approximately 85 percent of total shoplifting losses.

It’s neither cost-effective nor feasible to reduce shoplifting to zero at any retail location, so any effective strategy to combat customer theft needs to have the following two goals:

• Reduce the frequency of theft by the same person
• Keep that individual from “repeat” shoplifting

In order to make a shoplifter’s job next to impossible, we first have to understand how they get away with their crimes.

Common Shoplifting Methods

These are a few of the tactics shoplifters use to steal merchandise:
– Concealing: stuffing items in jackets, purses, or bags and leaving the store

– Walkouts: walking out with items in hand/basket/bag and not paying

– Grab n’ Dash: taking an item and running out with it (a more visible version of the walkout)

– Baby Stroller: pretending to have/or having a baby in a stroller and concealing items in the stroller

– “Slurpee Subterfuge”: coming in with a large empty drink cup and storing items in it

– “Booster Bags”: lining bags with “Faraday fabric” to prevent any signals from escaping, making anti-theft tags ineffective

– Barcode Swap: switching barcodes on expensive items with those of cheaper items

– Item Swap: similar to the barcode swap, this involves removing an item from its packaging and switching it out with another in a different box

– Fitting-room Concealment: concealing items in fitting rooms

– Fake Return Fraud: returning a stolen item to receive cash or store credit

– Consuming On-site: This method is commonly seen in places like grocery stores (for example people eating as they shop)

– Coupon Fraud: reprinting coupons and using them at different stores

These are just a few of the ways that shoplifters operate and not a comprehensive list as we want to focus on prevention in this guide.

How do I identify potential shoplifters?

While there is no single factor that distinguishes shoplifters from honest shoppers, there are potential behavior clues that you may observe — and professional ways to interact with them — to help deter theft and maintain a professional and welcoming environment

Here are some behaviors that could potentially indicate a shoplifter:

• Signs of anxiety or stress in their facial expressions or body language
• Unusual focus on a particular cashier or sales clerk
• Sudden head or eye movements
• Repeatedly entering and exiting a store without purchasing anything

While it’s always fine line between identifying potential shoplifters and maintaining a welcoming and respectful environment for your customers, it’s important to be aware of who is in your store.

With limited employees to keep track of all of the activity going on in a busy store, it’s relatively easy for individuals (or even groups) to shoplift items and walk out without anyone noticing.

Here are a few other tips that might be useful for identifying possible shoplifters.

Are they dressed correctly for the weather?

The clothing people wear should match the weather outside. If they come into your store wearing a long winter coat, and it’s a warm 70 degrees outside, keep an eye on them. Baggy clothing is another red flag, since it can easily conceal merchandise.

Do they frequently look at security cameras and trying to to avoid your salespeople?

It’s not unusual for customers to feel uncomfortable with being watched by cameras or avoid extended interactions with salespeople. But someone who’s obviously trying to stay in a completely different section of the store from them at all times is definitely suspicious.

If you have a clothing store with dressing rooms, here are few other things to consider that can be countered with attentive service.

1. Monitoring how many items customers take into a dressing room and how many they leave with
   
2. Checking to see how many people are going into the dressing room

What products do shoplifters like to steal?

Some retail stores are more popular targets based on the nature of the merchandise. Popular targets can include merchandise that is:

• Easy to conceal
• Lacking sophisticated protection
• High in resale value

While larger retailers have the budget and capacity to put a comprehensive deterrence plan in place, most small and medium-sized businesses are on a more restricted budget.

After numerous conversations with security experts and reading the resources and data sheets they provided, we narrowed down a long list of actionable tips to ten.

What can you do to prevent shoplifting?

Tip #1: Establish clear goals for your loss prevention strategies and communicate them to your team.

Examine your store’s historical data. Track your current revenue shrink, your weekly loss, and whether the numbers are trending positive or negative.

Look for any correlation between significant changes– positive or negative — in revenue shrink and other factors such as:

• The season
• Day of the week when it occurs more often
• Changes in the store layout
• New hires
  

We strongly encourage you to make decisions based on data.

Actionable Tip:
Once you’ve established your goals on paper, start drafting a loss prevention strategy that will help your employees accomplish those goals. Take the following questions into consideration when writing your shoplifting policies and procedures:

• Is your goal to prosecute or recover merchandise?
• Does your store have a zero-tolerance policy for shoplifting?
• Will you prosecute shoplifters under 18 or over 65?
• Is there a minimum dollar amount before prosecuting or issuing a civil demand?
• How will you confront and detain a shoplifter?
• What will you do if the shoplifter shows remorse or offers to pay?
• Who is responsible for calling the police?

Tip #2: Design your store with security in mind.

• Create an open floor plan that allows clear lines of sight to your high-value products. Thieves are less likely to steal if an employee or other guest can easily see the crime happening.

• Minimize the number of blind spots in your store where it’s difficult for your salespeople or security cameras to spot people.

• Install a convex mirror to extend visibility into less accessible or low-traffic sections of the store.
• Reduce shelf height or increase distance between shelves so staff can see customers on the other side.
• Elevate the sales counter/register so staff have greater visibility of the store.

• Merchandise that is prone to theft must be presented as “false opportunity” to any would-be thieves. In other words, you don’t have to keep all of your valuable products covered or locked up as long as someone is keeping an eye on it.
• Keep all unprotected items away from the doors, where it’s most prone to being taken by the “grab n’ dash” shoplifter.

Actionable Tip:
As a small business, it’s ideal to display fewer items so that it’s clear to your sales associates that something is missing.

If you have a large inventory, try to organize merchandise in a way that makes it easy for you to see a gap.

• Empty spaces on shelves are a telltale sign that your store is a victim of shoplifting.
  
  
• By pulling all of your products to the edge of the shelf to create a solid wall, you only need a glance to tell you that merchandise is missing.

Tip #3: Hire the right people and motivate them to succeed.

Security begins and ends with your employees. No business security system can compensate for putting dishonest people in a position of power.

Review your hiring process to make sure you’re inviting trustworthy employees to join your team. Carefully selecting employees will go a long way toward reducing unnecessary business losses.

When it comes to new hires, interview applicants thoroughly, check their references, run a background check, verify past employment and education claims, etc.

Make all employees understand the importance of loss prevention. When everyone is on board with preventing revenue loss, you’ll likely see better results in your LP strategy.

Find ways to motivate your staff to want to reduce shrinkage. Clearly communicate your plan and goals so that everyone understands the policy and what actions they need to take to reduce loss.

Empower managers and store workers to have a say in improving shrinkage efforts.

Actionable Tips:

• Consider adopting background checks for your team as a company policy.
• Review your candidates’ social media presences to get a better sense of who they are prior to your interview. This will give you an opportunity to ask them questions and ensure that you two are well-aligned for a successful working relationship.
• Consider a personality test for your potential employees to get a better sense of how they approach problem-solving and work with others.

A team of trustworthy, motivated employees can create an environment that values integrity and help you create a successful loss prevention strategy.

Tip #4: Maintain a low staff-customer ratio.

Shoplifters thrive when stores are busy. More customers means more distracted sales associates, cashiers, and managers.

Shoplifters are more likely to strike at certain times of the day and certain days of the week for this reason (though it varies from store to store).

In general, Wednesday through Saturday are the most popular days for shoplifters, especially in the afternoon and on weekends. Summer and holidays are often high-alert times for theft as well.

Actionable Tips:

• Keep track of the days of the week/month/year when your business sees the most foot traffic and when shoplifters are most likely to plan their visits, Be sure to communicate to your employees to be on alert during these times.
• Schedule an adequate number of employees to work when you expect higher traffic in your store.
• Plan to keep coverage solid during employee breaks. Too many stores only have one employee working at a time. When that employee goes to a store room or use the bathroom, the store is left empty and is an easy mark for a shoplifter.

Tip #5: Install an alarm system.

A monitored security system has been shown to deter thieves. As the graph below shows, almost all retail stores include burglar alarms as part of their loss prevention strategy.

Commercial burglars have repeatedly emphasized in interviews with loss prevention experts that they avoid targets that have point-of-entry protection like a professional-grade alarm.

(Source: National Retail Security Survey)

Putting up signs such as “shoplifters will be prosecuted” or “security police patrol this store” have no demonstrable effect on habitual shoplifters.

Shoplifters know how to spot fake door alarms and security cameras. If word gets around that your security system is ineffective or primarily “for show,” your store becomes a target for shoplifters.

Plus, it has the added benefit of reminding your employees that their activity is being monitored too, helping cut down on employee theft.

An alarm system can also identify internal problems.

With the ability to monitor alarm systems remotely, a retailer can have real-time status on every location, on who goes in and out of their store, how long a door was held open, and whether or not a store has armed their system.

Actionable Tip:

Find a professional-grade alarm system that fits your budget and can accommodate the specific needs of your business.

How do you choose an alarm company for your business?

After over three decades in the security business, we have learned from business owners that these are the areas they care about most when selecting a security provider:

• Flexibility to accommodate the business’s specific technical and functional needs
• The ability to support current and emerging technologies
• Industry reputation and experience
• A strong commitment to quality assurance

While cost will always be a major decision factor, the quality of the equipment and service should always comes first.

When choosing an alarm company for your business, make sure they can deliver on all four fronts.

How do business owners make the most of their alarm systems?

Alarms provide peace-of-mind to you and your employees, but they’re also serve a more practical purpose: saving you money.

To have an effective alarm system, you also need trained employees who know how to use it correctly.

A good security company maintains a close connection with you throughout the buying process to address any of your needs or concerns.

Make sure to ask your security provider if they will provide training to your employees to make sure they are comfortable using the system.

Some questions to ask:

• Will they train your employees on how to use the alarm?
• What specifically will they do in their training?
• How long will it take for employees be fully comfortable using the new system?

While companies can try to learn how to use a system on their own, they often find the process to be costly and inefficient.

No one understands your security system as well as your alarm company; that’s why Alarm New England takes exceptional care in educating all of our customers on how to use their systems to the fullest.

That way, you’re more likely to use it, feel safer, and see a more substantial return on your investment.

Tip #6: Crack down on return fraud with a clear return policy.

Fraudulent retail transactions are on the rise — especially as shopping shifts from brick-and-mortar locations to e-commerce. This also makes tracking shopper data complicated.

This type of crime often involves an individual stealing merchandise, and then returning those items for a gift card or other currency.

The National Retail Federation’s Return Fraud Survey says an astonishing 95.2% of retailers have experienced return fraud in 2017, costing them $9.6 billion.

Actionable Tips:

• Require a receipt and ID for accepting cash returns.
• Track customers in a database to take note of fraudulent or excessive returns.
• Only refund in the same form of currency used for the purchase. (For example, if the item was purchased with a credit card, issue a credit to that same card.)
• Limit or eliminate cash refunds. Instead, offer store credit.
• Decide how many days you will allow customers to return the item. (Typically this can range between 30-90 days.)
• Specify the condition merchandise must be received and consider adding a 10-20 percent restocking fee for opened items, unless defective or prohibited by law.
• Make your return policy visible and easy for customers to understand.
• Enforce the return policy consistently. Do not make exceptions for anyone.
• Train employees to spot return fraud, understand the return policy, and thoroughly enforce it.

Tip #7: Install Closed Circuit Television surveillance systems.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) uses video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific, limited set of monitors.

CCTV cameras are most often used to monitor customer and employee behavior. Some stores use public view monitors to deter theft and provide increased safety and security to regular shoppers.

When used appropriately, such devices are effective in deterring theft and other undesirable activities. They can also be used to monitor customer behavior, assist marketing and sales, and address customer service issues.

Are security cameras effective at reducing shoplifting?

Research on the effectiveness of CCTV systems concluded that security cameras can be effective in retail environments.

However, best practices must be followed for the system to be effective at preventing loss.

The real benefit of CCTV is the way it affects a shoplifter’s risk perception, making them less likely to commit a crime in the first place. Additionally, CCTV appears most effective at combating opportunistic offenses, in which items are small, easily portable, and of relatively high value.

Many studies of the impact of CCTV on retail crime have reached similar conclusions.

Essentially, a well-designed professional-grade CCTV surveillance system often makes good business sense and pays for itself within 1-2 years, whereas businesses almost never recoup the cost of the cheap budget camera systems.

Actionable Tips:

Choosing the right cameras for your setup isn’t easy, so here are some basic information that you can use to get off to a good start.

• Have someone explain the advantages of each type of camera before buying. Make sure every part of your system is compatible with one another and will not result in bottlenecks.
• Do the math before shopping. There are hundreds of cameras available; know the features of different cameras and the additional cost that comes with said features.
• Create a purpose for every camera. Every camera needs to serve a particular need by watching a specific area.

For more detailed information, review another great resource, our Beginner’s Guide to Choosing a Security Camera.

Tip #8: Use EAS tags.

There are 3 common types of anti-theft tags: Acousto-Magnetic tags, RFID tags, and Spider Wrap.

Acousto-magnetic tags

These are narrow, white tags that are about the length of your thumb.

They are usually deactivated by cashiers by passing them under a demagnetizer. You’ll also find large, plastic variations of these on clothes, some of which contain ink packs.

One of the long sides is adhesive, allowing it to be stuck on the packaging of products. Sometimes, they are put inside packaging.

RFID tags

These are larger stickers that have a spiral-shaped metallic circuit printed on the adhesive side.

The benefit of RFID is it’s less bulky, can be applied selectively on high-value items at individual stores rather than by the manufacturer, and it can store detailed data about a product as it travels along a supply chain.

In doing so, it helps reduce employee theft and out-of-stocks. So much so that by 2012, over half of all US retailers had adopted item-level RFID.

Spider wrap

Unlike the other tags, spider wrap is prominently wrapped around products. In this case, the tags themselves have an alarm built in to them. Cutting through the wires will set off an alarm.

These are the most common types of tags, but they are by no means the only types. There are dozens of other anti-theft tags, especially for clothing.

Actionable Tips:

Almost every tag can be disabled with the right skills and tools, but the mere sight of tags can be enough to make many thieves think twice about stealing from your store.

Studies have shown that opting for brightly-colored tags on the product’s exterior has a demonstrable effect on shrinkage.In one store, switching from visible hard tags to less visible soft tags in some stores resulted in a 251% increase in shrinkage, compared to a 33% increase in shrinkage in control stores.

According to Beck’s and Palmer’s report, staff at stores where the new tags were installed attributed the rising shrinkage to “the lack of a visual deterrent to would-be thieves.”

Moreover, staff felt that the soft tags were easier to take off than hard tags, making the alarm system ineffective and adding to the increase in shrinkage. Employees noted an apparent increase in the number of discarded tags found in changing rooms after the change took place.

Another study showed that the installation of a new type of EAS tag in red reduced shrinkage (42%) and increased in sales (18%). When compared to its beige counterpart, the reverse was true a 252% increase in shrinkage and 7% decrease in sales.

Tip #9: Make sure your store is adequately lit.

Lights are a strong deterrent to criminal activity — especially at night. Walk through your store during the day and night specifically to find dark, poorly-lit areas, such as corners of the store or behind high shelves. Make lighting even across the store except where spotlights highlight product.

Actionable Tips:

• To eliminate blind spots in corners that shoplifters might use for hiding, make sure you install mirrors while making sure there’s adequate lighting in all areas.
• Ensure parking lots are well lit to assist staff and make customers feel safe as they leave your store.
• Do not light areas outside of store hours that cannot be seen by passing pedestrians or cars (e.g. loading docks), as these lights benefit burglars more than yourself.

For a simple outdoor light that doesn’t involve running wires, try something like a battery-powered motion-sensing floodlight like this one by Mr. Beams.

The lights link together so that if one goes off, the others do as well. The only drawback with battery-powered lights is that if you set them in a high-traffic area or use them in severe cold weather, the battery life decreases significantly.

For a wired solution, consider something like the Leonlite with 180-degree lighting and sensing angles, as well as customizable motion sensing-range, lighting levels, and illumination timing.

Tip #10: Establish a connection with your customers when they enter your store.

Greeting your customers is an important part of deterring theft and an easy way to welcome people to your store.

The better you know those who frequent your store, the less likely they are to steal from you. It also sends a signal to potential shoplifters that you are connected and potentially aware of who has entered your store.

Shoplifters want to be anonymous and make as little contact with store employees as possible.

Given that most consumers turn to the right upon entering, place your checkout stand in a prominent location on the left-hand side. Also, make sure to never leave your register unlocked or unattended.

Actionable Tips:

• Try to at have employees located near the entrance, whether that means having a greeter or putting the front desk or sales counter near the door.
• Genuinely make all customers feel welcome in your store.
• Greet them by smiling and looking them in the eyes.

Final Thoughts

Shoplifting may seem inevitable in the retail world, but it is within your power to reduce its occurrence within your business. With a coherent plan that takes into account some of the strategies above, you should be able to make a sizable dent in your annual shrinkage and see an uptick in sales.

More and more business owners are realizing how important a loss prevention strategy is for their long-term success.

We’re always available to guide you through that process. If you ever need help addressing the security concerns of your business, we’ll use our experience protecting thousands of retail and convenience stores across New England to help you find a solution.

Contact us at 857-445-4010 to talk to us about your business’s security needs today.

Call An Expert ››

Update April 5, 2019: The Narragansett office was affected by a fire yesterday afternoon. Thankfully, all employees were able to escape unscathed. A quick response from the Narragansett, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, East Greenwich, Charlestown-Richmond and Jamestown fire departments ensured the fire was brought under control.

The office has been temporarily relocated to Riverside, RI. To our customers, rest assured that there will be no interruption to your service, monitoring, or installation. Please call 401-789-2350 with questions.

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Welcome to the Alarm New England family! We are proud new Englanders with offices in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Our teams of technicians, service, and support personnel will work hard to be sure you are satisfied. Don’t worry – nothing is changing for you!

Your rates, monitoring station and ESS team members you know so well are all the same. We have just added 110 employees by joining forces with Alarm New England. We look forward to getting to know you. In the meantime, if you need anything at all, please contact us at: 857-445-4010.

Please take a look around our site! We offer affordable solutions to help get you get rid of phone lines, control the system via an app or add cameras and smart home automation to your system. If you need anything at all, please click below to let us know how we can help!

Press Release

Rocky Hill, CT – December 18, 2018 – Alarm New England, a leading provider in New England of home and business security systems today announced the purchase of Engineered Security Systems. This acquisition further strengthens the company’s presence in the state of Rhode Island.

Engineered Security Systems provides integrated security and fire alarm systems. Based in Narragansett, RI, the company designs, installs, monitors and services security systems for industrial, commercial and residential customers throughout Rhode Island.

“I believe that people want to do business with local people; that’s our niche. Our customer’s security is handled by people familiar with their local area; I firmly believe that local service makes all the difference. That is why we are investing in Rhode Island. It is an area where we have a 40 year history and we remain committed to local businesses and the community. We welcome the Engineered Security family into our Alarm New England family”, states Doug Curtiss, Owner and CEO.

Alarm New England is a local, family owned organization best known for its personalized service, community involvement and local police relations. Engineered Security joins their impressive portfolio of companies which includes Intercity Alarms, which serves residential and commercial customers in southeastern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and the Islands. Also included are Sonitrol franchises in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island via the brand Sonitrol New England and Voice New England, a telecommunications company started by Doug Curtiss in 1981.

“Alarm New England and the Curtiss family have a strong 40-year tradition in the Northeast. Our customers will now have access to more staff and resources to allow us to continue to provide the same level of high touch service that has been the hallmark of Engineered Security. With Alarm New England, you get the best of both worlds; the strength and stability of a regional company and the personalized service and support of a local company”, said Ken Soscia, who founded Engineered Security Systems in 1982.

SPP Advisors, LLC represented Engineered Security in this transaction. Mark H. Sandler, Managing Director, commented, “We believe that this is a clear “win-win” for both Alarm New England and Engineered Security. The combination of these two long-term Northeast alarm companies will continue to provide excellent security services in this region of New England.”

Ken Soscia and the current employees will remain with the combined company and the local office will continue to reside at 2C Celestial Drive, Narragansett, RI.

About Alarm New England, Inc.

Founded in 1972 by Douglas Curtiss, Alarm New England, headquartered in Rocky Hill, CT, is one of the largest privately owned security companies in the Northeast. The company provides intrusion detection, fire alarm, video surveillance and access control products and services. With offices throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Alarm New England offers a network of resources, utilizes leading technology and provides a strong commitment to customer service.

There’s nothing quite as rage inducing as having your security alarm go off and not knowing how to get it to stop beeping. It’s hard to think clearly with a constant annoying noise, especially in the middle of the night or when you’ve arrived home from a long day at work.

But beyond just having to deal with the noise, it’s possible that if your alarm system is designed to contact the police, you might get a call from your monitoring center asking you if everything is okay.

False alarms can cause all sorts of needless stress and worry. Being able to get your security system to stop beeping is important so you can get back to enjoying your day (or go back to sleep). The next time your alarm goes off for no reason, these tips will help you get your security system under control.

1. Locate the source of the beeping.

The first thing you’ll want to do is to make sure that it’s your security system that is going off and not another alarm system you have in place. It’s possible that the source of the beeping may be your smoke detector or a carbon monoxide detector that has detected harmful gases or is malfunctioning. Once you’re sure it’s your burglar alarm system that is the source of the beeping, you can take steps to disarm it.

2. Call your alarm monitoring company.

If you’ve just come home and hear the system beeping, call your security company and ask if they have detected any issues at your house. It’s possible there is an intruder or another problem, like a fire or carbon monoxide leak, in your home. You’ll want your security company to check all of your sensors and make sure your house is safe before you try to turn off the alarm.

3. Check the alarm system battery.

Once you’ve gotten the all clear from your security company, check the battery on your alarm system to make sure it isn’t running low. When a battery gets weak, your system will beep to notify you that you should check the battery and replace it. This is the best-case scenario, as it’s a relatively easy problem to fix.

After you install fresh batteries, the low battery warning should disappear, and the system should return to normal operation.

4. Disarm the alarm system.

If changing the batteries didn’t end the beeping, disarm your alarm system by entering your security code. Remain calm and take your time as you put in your code. Once you’ve entered the correct code, odds are everything will go back to normal.

5. If all else fails, call a technician.

If changing the batteries and disarming the system doesn’t work, there may be a hardware issue with your security system. Unless you’re an experienced alarm technician, call the security company that installed your system and describe the problem you are having.

The company should be able to walk you through additional steps to resolve the issue. If your alarm can’t be fixed remotely, the company will send a technician to your home who can resolve the situation quickly and professionally.

Your alarm system should work correctly 24/7 to ensure your safety. Getting your system reset and functioning properly is our top priority. If your Alarm New England security system ever starts beeping for no reason, please contact us immediately, and we’ll make sure the problem gets resolved as soon as possible.

Looking to upgrade your existing wired alarm system? Look no further than the Honeywell Vista-20P Wired Security System. The system is cost-effective and combines the best of both a hardwired system and wireless technology.

Rather than replace your entire wired alarm system, use the Vista-20P to customize and update your home security without breaking the bank.

How Does the Honeywell Vista-20P Wired Security System Work?

The Honeywell Vista-20P Wired Security System is mechanical, and as the name suggests, it works by bringing together the vast collection of wires that are placed in the walls of your home to create connections between the various sensors that make up your security system.

The Honeywell Vista-20P’s rock-solid reputation for quality and its ability to accommodate a wide variety of wired systems make it the ideal wired solution for many of our customers.

To get into the nitty-gritty, a wired system works through a relay. It incorporates an electromagnet, which becomes magnetized when electric current runs through a circuit, which then opens or closes another circuit. Simply put, they are used to turn switches on and off. While this relay functionality is fairly old technology, wired systems like the Vista-20P are known for their consistency.

As this particular control panel works on these kinds of relay-based principles, setting up the Vista-20P requires specialized wiring knowledge best left to skilled technicians or electricians.

The Vista-20P is designed to connect to each sensor via the electrical wiring in the walls of your home, and its versatile control panel is a blank slate from which you can add all kinds of cutting-edge functionality.

For example, you can connect the wired Vista-20P to a wireless receiver and use wireless devices. This way, you can use a combination of both wired and wireless sensors when setting up your home security system.

Style of the Honeywell Vista-20P

Think of the control panel as the “main brain” behind all of the other sensors and devices that you’ll be using to monitor activity and movement throughout your home. Most of the wires that connect your security equipment are safely and invisibly threaded through the walls of your home.

The Vista-20P control panel consists of a circuit board housed in a metal frame, which protects the panel from dust and tampering.

It might not be something that you’d want to show off in the foyer of your house, but in your basement or in a closet, the Honeywell Vista-20P control panel will be the silent, sturdy hub for all of your connected home security devices.

Honeywell Vista-20P Features

The Honeywell Vista-20P can support up to 48 zones and 8 keypads.

The control panel itself doesn’t come with a digital interface, but it is robust and can be integrated with a variety of additional display devices to add functionality.

For example, you can use the Honeywell Vista-20P with a Tuxedo Touch Keypad (see above) if you want touchscreen functionality or a 6160RF keypad if you’d prefer something with physical buttons.

In addition to the easy-to-use interface, the Tuxedo keypad has a built-in Z-Wave controller to communicate with Z-Wave devices like smart locks. With the Total Connect smartphone app, you can control your system from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.

The app will also let you arm and disarm the system remotely, change user codes, and get notifications when alarms and other events occur.

You can also set up dual partitions, which allows you to separately arm and disarm parts of a single property while paying only one monitoring fee.

For example, a homeowner in a multi-unit home who rents out a portion of their home can their portion of the house separately from the tenant’s portion.

Wired systems rely on electricity, which means that ordinarily if your home were to lose power, your system will go down. But not so with the Vista-20P—it can accommodate a 12V 4.5Ah battery backup. This will keep your system up and running for about 24 hours in the case of a power failure.

Benefits of the Honeywell Vista-20P

Instead of spending a lot of money replacing an old alarm system that still works, purchasing the Honeywell Vista-20P is a more cost-effective way of breathing life into an older, wired system.

Besides saving money, you’re also creating a bridge between old and new systems. For example, you can use the Vista-20P to call the police, fire department, or other emergency services automatically through a wired landline connection, and you can combine it with other monitoring accessories to detect floods, smoke, fires, low temperature, and, of course, burglaries.

With the ability to integrate with wireless receivers, hardwired alarm devices, and alarm keypads, the customization options are virtually endless. In fact, when it comes to additional functionality, you’re only limited by your budget.

The Honeywell Vista-20P wired security system really is the best of both worlds: You can have the reliability of a hardwired alarm system coupled with the convenience of modern wireless add-ons.

If you’re looking for a cost-effective way to make use of the existing security system in your home, installing a Honeywell Vista-20P wired security system will give you peace of mind and give you upgrade options when you want them down the line.