Statistics on the amount of theft occurring in the workplace has fallen by almost 30% in just three years in Denmark. In 2002, the police received over 1,300 reports of theft in the workplace, but in the first quarter of 2005, only 533 incidents were registered. According to the Regional Manager of the Danish Trade & Service organization, Laurits Rønn, this decline can be attributed to the fact that more and more companies have set up surveillance cameras.
"This is good news, as it proves that it has a preventive effect when businesses set up cameras, and this improves security for the employees," he says.
Earlier in the year, the Danish Trade & Service organization undertook a survey of about 400 Danish companies. It showed that every third company had installed video cameras to keep an eye on both customers and employees.
Steen Larsen, a Danish Vice Criminal Inspector for the police in a suburb of Copenhagen, has no doubt that it is the video surveillance that has put a stop to theft.
The Danish Industry Organization for Security and Safety also reports an increase in the number of companies contacting them for advice on surveillance solutions.
"Especially in recent years it has become more popular, particularly among smaller businesses, to install cameras both where there’s inventory and in the offices," says Kasper Skov-Mikkelsen, Director at that organization.
The thought of a monitored workplace has traditionally been a gloomy bugaboo here, but according to Kasper Skov-Nielsen, it is important for a company to have an open dialog with its employees before the cameras are in operation.
"Companies must explain to their personnel that the surveillance is in their own best interests. In that way, the business can avoid a lot of unnecessary problems," he explains.
Things are currently moving in the right direction, and at the Danish Trade & Service organization Lauritz Rønn has no doubt that more companies will be installing surveillance cameras in the future.
"Businesses can see from their partners and industry colleagues that it works preventively, so I am sure that there will be more cameras in business environments in just a few years," he concludes.
It has been estimated that about half of all insurance claims for workplace theft pertain to stolen IT equipment. Until 2005, the amount of such payments by insurance companies had been increasing. Other typical stolen items include cash, designer furniture, cigarettes and liquor.
This article was translated to English from a news piece on the website
www.SecurityWorldHotel.com/dk, and source information reported in the Danish business publication ErhvervsBladet, and source information reported in the Danish business publication .