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A recent spate of Vandalism and attempted theft at coin operated business’s throughout Perth has the W.A Police on the hunt for those responsible.

As reported by Nine News Perth on the 11/01/2016, over 150 different cash premises in Perth have been targeted by a ragtag bunch of individuals in the hope’s of a few small dollars.

While leaving empty handed on many occasions the damage done to the equipment leaves an unsafe environment with live wires and exposed metal, as well as a very expensive repair bill on site.

While impossible to completely prevent, we have complied 4 quick tips to protect you and your coin laundry business, be it a dry cleaners, Laundromat, Caravan Park or Apartment Complex Laundry room.

1. Lights, Locks & Access

   Deterrent is key with crimes of this opportunist nature and ensuring your laundry room is well lit up with simple Fluorescent light globes and has has clean, clear, unobstructed windows for easy viewing from outside the premise will not only make any thieves think twice but will also increase the likely hood of them being spotted from passerby’s outside of the laundry room. Making sure your laundry room is securely locked up outside of your posted opening hours and having your entrance and exit doors well-lit are simple cost effective deterrents to keep vandalism at bay.

2. Video Surveillance and CCTV

   Having a high quality video surveillance system is a no-brainer for any business these days and can be purchased and installed for next to nothing. Working again first and foremost as a visual deterrent to anybody that enters the laundry room, most CCTV systems can also be accessed remotely via phone and computer apps giving you the ability to monitor your business remotely in real time. A good quality CCTV system will also greatly assist the police with identifying a person of interest if you do run into issues in your laundry.

3. Regularly empty your coin boxes

   Coin boxes from your Washers and Dryers should be emptied as often as possible, Ideally multiple times a week in a busy laundromat. An empty coin box will not only mean you do not lose any of your hard earned cash if somebody gets into it, but the chances of them trying again will also be greatly lower if there is no reward for them.

4. Add additional Coin Box protection.

   A high security coin box guard is another layer of defense, designed to be fitted in front of your commercial laundry equipment’s Coin Box and securely held in place with a tamper resistant security padlock. This will prevent access to the coin box of the machine without first having to remove the Coin Box Guard.

5. Change your payment acceptance.

   If there is no Cash on the premise there is no incentive for people to vandalize your laundry. Washing machines accepting token’s rather than cash have been used for decades as an alternative to Coins but will require a way for your clients to gain access to the tokens (buying them offsite etc)  Credit card and mobile payment systems are the latest technology making its way to our shores in Coin Laundry’s and can make your laundry room completely cash free, meaning no theft, no annoying trips to the bank with bags of coins, simple auditing and greater flexibility of what you can charge your customers. (stay tuned to hear more about this from us soon!)

If you have been a target of these vandals contact Crime Stoppers on  1800 333 000 or Dependable Laundry Solutions Company Director Gabrielle on (08) 9470 6868 so we can ensure the police have all possible leads covered.