Dear signatures,
Thanks for your question. First, let me request that if any of the
following is unclear or if you require any further research – please
don’t hesitate to ask me for a clarification.
You had asked several questions –
+ What is the number of small businesses in the U.S. that have active
integrated security alarm systems?
+ How many use 3rd party monitoring services?
+ About what percentage of all small businesses have integrated alarm
systems installed?
...and I will try to answer them as best I can.
I could not find a census that would provide accurate information
about the exact prevalence of alarm systems etc. in small businesses
(a census is a survey where every single member of a population is
asked to respond, rather than just a sample of the population).
However, I have managed to identify two surveys that provide enough
data to allow us to extrapolate to the small business population
at-large (in other words, the data seems to be representative of the
US small business population).
In order to extrapolate, however, it is first necessary to come to
terms with the number of small businesses in the US. Luckily, this
data is easily obtainable from the Small Business Administration at
www.sba.gov. According to the latest report published in February of
2003 and titled “Small Business Economic Indicators for 2001” the
number of small businesses in the US is as follows -
Number of small businesses in the US
1991 - 5,051,025
1998 - 5,685,900
1999 - 5,607,743
2000 - 5,730,400 e.
2001 - 5,819,300 e.
The SBA reports the growth rate for small businesses over the past ten
years has averaged 1.6% annually. We can therefore estimate that the
number of small businesses in 2002 (last full year) was approximately
5.912 million – this is the number I will use for the rest of my
calculations below.
The SBA report is available in .pdf format at –
http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbei01.pdf
The first survey reflects data gathered in 1997, and was published in
the Journal of Small Business Management in July 2000 (full reference
at bottom of response under “References”). Four researchers –
Kuratko, Hornsby, Naffziger and Hodgetts – surveyed 500 small
businesses in the Midwestern and southeastern US; they received 422
responses. The demographics of the responding businesses were as
follows (I thought this data would be of interest to you since you
specified various levels for sales and employees) –
Annual sales of businesses surveyed
--------------------------------------------
Less than $100k – 22.4%
$100k to $500k – 34.2%
$500k to $1m – 16.3%
$1m to $2m – 9.9%
$2m to $5m – 17.1%
Number of employees of businesses surveyed
---------------------------------------------------------
5 or less – 40.4%
6 to 10 – 21.9%
11 to 25 – 21.3%
26 or more – 15.5%
Businesses were asked what crime prevention actions they have taken in
their business – their responses were as follows (in percentage
terms):
Low amounts of cash on premises - 81.5%
Good lighting - 79.1%
Key control - 75.1%
Employee identification procedures - 71.6%
Check identification - 63.3%
Burglar alarms - 61.6%
Attentive employees - 61.1%
Prospective employee checks - 58.5%
Clear visibility - 57.1%
Proper authorization - 56.4%
Personally examined statements - 55.5%
Security system - 52.8%
Separate employ functions - 52.4%
Neat merchandise arrangement - 51.2%
Controlled pricing procedures - 51.2%
Protected back doors - 50.0%
Limited access areas - 45.0%
Electronic card scanners - 44.1%
Signatures scrutinized - 41.2%
Supervisor approval - 40.8%
Unannounced spot checks - 38.2%
Rubber stamp - 36.7%
Two-person opening and closing - 36.5%
Additional identification - 35.1%
Check verifying services - 32.2%
Locked display cases - 26.1%
Signed agreements - 25.4%
Mirrors - 23.7%
Check cashing limit - 22.0%
Different travel routes - 21.6%
Television cameras - 19.7%
Guard dogs - 12.1%
Patrol services - 11.1%
Honesty testing - 10.7%
Code-10 (call-in for credit car - 9.7%
Check cashing card - 9.7%
Fitting room attendants - 4.0%
Lie detector - 1.4%
(I thought you may find the additional data of interest!)
According to the survey, then –
+ 61.6% of small businesses installed alarms
+ 52.8% installed a security system
+ 11.1% hired patrol services
When multiplied by the total number of small businesses in the US we
end up with the following numbers –
Alarms – 3.64 million businesses
Security systems – 3.12 million
Patrol services – 656,000
The 1997 JSBM survey did not address third party monitoring services
as far as alarm systems are concerned; however, the number of
businesses hiring patrol services gives us some proxy for this (or at
the very least a minimum). In addition, a second survey – conducted
by Security Journal in 2000, and published as “Crime and Small
Businesses in the Midwest: An examination of overlooked issues in the
U.S” – did address monitored systems. Survey results were reproduced
with extensive commentary in an article titled “Are America’s Small
Businesses Cheating Themselves When It Comes to Security,” published
in Security Director’s Report in November of 2000. According to the
Security Journal survey, 8.5% of small businesses employed a monitored
security system.
Using the same extrapolation as above, this yields 502,000 businesses.
In addition to the references for these articles, I have provided some
additional links below that may be relevant.
I hope this response adequately addresses your request. Please let me
know if you are in need of additional information concerning this
query.
Thanks,
ragingacademic-ga
References:
CRIME AND SMALL BUSINESS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF COST AND PREVENTION
ISSUES IN U.S. FIRMS(*) , By: Kuratko, Donald F., Hornsby, Jeffrey
S., Naffziger, Douglas W., Hodgetts, Richard M., Journal of Small
Business Management, 00472778, Jul2000, Vol. 38, Issue 3>
Are America’s Small Businesses Cheating Themselves When It Comes to
Security? Security Director’s Report: 6-7, 10, November 2000
Crime and Small Businesses in the Midwest: An Examination of
Overlooked Issues in the US,” Security Journal, V 13 No 1 2000
Additional Links:
Security Industry Association – good set of reports for sale
http://www.siaonline.org/c.asp
Information about security industry in general
http://www.home-security-systems.net/Security_Statistics.htm
More statistics…
http://www.alarmbridge.com/home/facts.htm
Crime prevention is big issue for small business (article)
http://louisville.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2001/04/30/focus2.html
Search Strategy:
“small business” and security and alarm system |
