Thieves trigger supermarket fire alarms to beat store security

20 Oct 2023

Shoppers were recently evacuated from an Epsom supermarket after thieves maliciously activated 
a fire alarm call point at Sainsbury's Kiln Lane store and then, under cover of the building evacuation, attempted to steal two televisions.

While people were evacuating the store, two men attempted to slip away with the TV sets undetected. However, on this occasion they were thwarted by security guards who spotted the suspects and managed to detain them until Police arrived.

According to statistics released earlier this month by the British Retail Consortium, store thefts have more than doubled in the past three years, and currently cost retailers some £953 million a year. Leading retailers are saying that the UK is in the grip of a shoplifting epidemic with some thieves now using the potentially dangerous tactic of setting off a building’s fire alarm to divert the attention of store security - with all the unnecessary risk and disruption a store evacuation brings. 

Protective covers for fire alarm call points can help to control accidental and malicious fire alarms and act as a deterrent to anyone thinking of setting off the building’s fire alarm.

Smart+Guard is a tough polycarbonate hinged protective cover 
Manufactured in the UK by Vimpex Ltd., Smart+Guard is a tough polycarbonate hinged protective cover that can easily be installed over a range of emergency switches and other devices to provide protection from vandalism, accidental damage or misuse that causes unwanted alarms.

Available with an integral battery powered alarm, that when lifted emits an ear piercing 90 dB alarm, warning the user that the device is for emergency use only and should not be tampered with.