Preventing Negligent Security on Your Property

Preventing Negligent Security on Your Property

Negligent security can occur at any business and can cause serious risk to the safety and security of customers, employees, and other individuals on the property. Should a criminal incident occur on the property, the ownership and management of the property could be held liable for not ensuring sufficient security to prevent the criminal act from occurring. Additionally, businesses can be sued for unsafe conditions that could cause injury or harm to individuals on the property. 

Risks of Negligent Security

Failure to provide adequate security, commonly referred to as negligent security, can cause significant damages to the business. If a business is unable to protect its employees, guests, and/or the general public from a probable or foreseeable risk while on the business property, that business may sued for negligent security. It is the legal duty of the business ownership and management to ensure that the property is sufficiently protected from safety and security risks. This includes ensuring the premises is generally safe from environmental dangers, securing the business from risks such as armed robbery, and putting measures in place to control and monitor common areas, such as parking lots, if possible.

A business may be found liable of negligent security if they do not meet or exceed the safety and security standards of other similar businesses in the area and/or comply with regulatory requirements for the business type. A negligent security claim may point out lacking or faulty security systems and devices, deficient employee training, or injury-causing conditions on the property. If a business, its ownership, or leadership is sued for negligent security, the plaintiff (suing party) will need to prove that they incurred harm while on the property due to the business’ negligent security and that the harm otherwise would not have happened had the business provided adequate security.

Preventing Negligent Security

Businesses have a duty of care to prevent foreseeable risks on their properties. Foreseeable risks can be determined by examining the area in close proximity of the business to understand the types of crimes and other incidents that occur in the area. Business ownership and management should evaluate the area’s frequently occurring crimes for the previous five years to determine which incidents could also occur at the business property. When conducting this research phase, businesses should assess history of: property crimes, civil unrest, robberies/burglaries, gang related incidents, or other violent crimes. 

Business owners and management should ensure that they implement sufficient physical security measures to protect the property. This may include a security surveillance system, alarm system,  and/or access control system to monitor and control the premises as well as the ingress and egress of all individuals. Other common physical security measures include the installation of perimeter fencing, contracting security guards, and utilizing high-security doors. Not all businesses will need to utilize identical physical security measures to meet the same security standards. As well as differing security needs for distinct business types, each property will have its own unique security challenges requiring individual solutions. 

How Can Sapphire Risk Help?

Tony Gallo and the team of consultants at Sapphire Risk Advisory Group are experienced in conducting risk assessments to improve the facility’s security and prevent cases of negligent security. Should your business be sued for negligent security, contact us to inquire about a post-incident assessment and utilizing our expert witness services to defend your business. Follow us on social media to stay up to date with more security best practices and cannabis industry updates!

Authors

Cannabis Security Consultant Pawn Jewelry Tony Gallo
Tony Gallo
Technical Writer and Industry News Editor
Katharine Baxter