Business Watch is a Public Safety program and we want you—business owners, managers, and personnel—to be involved!

What is Business Watch?

Business Watch is a crime prevention program that enlists the active participation of business citizens in cooperation with law enforcement and the City to reduce crime in your community.

This free program assists business owners and their employees with crime prevention techniques and strategies that can be used to help reduce business-related crime.

Secure your business against crime

Remember, crimes against businesses are usually crimes of opportunity. If you make it easy for someone to steal from you, chances are they will.

The Business Watch program focuses on teaching employees how to be observant and aware. Trained employees are a business's front line and a great resource to deter crime.

Make crime against your business risky and unrewarding by starting a Business Watch program today! The City and law enforcement would rather work with you to prevent crime than spend time apprehending the criminals. 

To get started and join the scores of business owners who have already taken the first step toward a crime-free business, contact the Lancaster Police Department office today at (661)723-6063 or via email, and learn more with the Business Watch flyer.

Training on various business-related safety topics is offered. Get started today and learn how to protect yourself, your employees, and your business!

Tips for success: take proactive measures

• Leave cash drawers empty and open after hours so criminals can see you have nothing to take.
• Make frequent bank deposits at varied hours.
• Secure locks on all doors and windows when closing up.
• Remember, a cheap lock can be jimmied with a knife or plastic card, so use sturdy deadbolts. Have a locksmith inspect your entries and prescribe appropriate locks.
• Replace hollow-core doors with solid-construction doors.
• Brightly illuminate all entrances with vandal-proof fixtures, and check the bulbs often.
• Keep all shrubbery and debris away from windows and doors. Don't provide concealment or climbing platforms for a burglar.
• Install an alarm system and security cameras; check them regularly for potential failure.
• Use an armored car for cash transport if feasible.
• Teach employees to be aware of persons who are loitering or behaving in a suspicious manner. Such persons may be casing the premises for burglary, robbery, or shoplifting.
• Advertise a policy of prosecuting all shoplifters and stick to it.
• Establish effective deterrents within your business: first, heighten the shoplifter's feelings of being watched, and second, minimize the shoplifter's access to merchandise.
• Do not work alone. If you must work alone, turn on a radio or television in a back room to suggest that someone else is present.
• If you are robbed, observe the robber(s); don't fight them off. Call the Sheriff's Station immediately afterward. Quickly jot down a description of the robber(s).
• Have your street address clearly visible for responding deputies to easily see.  Address numbers should be at least three inches tall.

Doing your part

Reporting crime and suspicious behavior is very important to keep crime out of your business. Report incidents to the Sheriff's Station at (661)948-8466. Briefly describe the incident - what happened, when, where, and who was involved. Give as much descriptive information as possible. Then talk to your neighboring merchants about what is occurring.

Don't forget: in an emergency, call 911.

To start a Business Watch group, contact the Lancaster Police Department Office at (661) 723-6063 or via e-mail for an information packet.

Mind your business... if you don't, criminals will!