Physical Access Controls

Physical Access Controls can reduce risk of Violence at Work.

Findings from the 2019/20 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimated 60% of work-place violence offenders were strangers to the victim.

It obviously makes sense to control access to a workplace.

Access control is the selective restriction of access to a place or other resource. The purpose of access control is to ensure that authorised people are free to move around authorised areas of a building at authorised times, while unauthorised people are prevented from entering those parts of a building where or when their presence is not permitted.

Physical access controls are measures that can be used to restrict access to a premises or parts of it and so help prevent unauthorised access, thefts/burglaries and criminal damage.

Examples of physical access controls, include barriers, gates, locks, alarms, visitor identification and registration process and the presence of security officers.

Physical access controls in combination with monitored CCTV, personal attack alarms and the presence of onsite security officers can help deter violence in a workplace and enable employees to feel safer.

Electronic Access Control Systems

Electronic access control systems can manage (i.e. control/record/audit) who has access to where and at what times and under what conditions. They also overcome the difficulties associated with using traditional mechanical keys.

For example:

Keys can get misplaced, lost or stolen and, when it happens, having to replace the door lock cylinder so that the lost key can’t be used is expensive.
Keys don’t record who passed through a door or the time when they did.
Keys can be cumbersome to manage when there is a more than a few of them and it can be difficult to remember which key is for which door.

Integrated Security Solutions

Integrated security is the integration of security systems.

For example, CCTV cameras, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), access control, intruder alarms, personal attack alarms and BWV cameras, can all be integrated and controlled through one central system, enabling increased efficiency.