Dealing with trespassers at your place of work can be a tricky business. Contrary to popular belief, the fact that someone has entered your property without permission does not grant you free reign to deal with them as you see fit. There are many different reasons that a person or group of people may trespass on your business premises, from petty vandals and ex-employees to travelers and protesters, and different cases must be handled in different ways. Below, we will highlight some of the things commercial property owners should be aware of when dealing with situations involving trespass.
Trespassing is usually a civil matter and in most cases the first action if someone trespasses on your property should simply be to ask them to leave. It is only if they refuse that you have the right to use reasonable force. The difficulty comes in determining what reasonable force constitutes as the circumstances will determine how much force is necessary. If the person does not pose a threat to the premises or persons present, then any use of force may be considered excessive or unnecessary.Therefore,property owners will often call the police to deal with the situation rather than risk liability. Trespass is not a criminal offense so police will not arrest trespassers unless they believe they are committing or intend to commit aggravated trespass; a further act beyond the actual trespass intended to “deter, disrupt or obstruct”the lawful business taking place.
This is also true in the case of travelers who take up residence on your land. Although it is against the law for travelers to occupy land which has not been designated for this purpose, it is not a criminal offense to occupy private or council-owned land so responsibility lies with the landowner and the police are not usually involved.Most of the time, the issue can be resolved by speaking to the travelers and agreeing a date by which they will move on. However, if a reasonable agreement cannot be reached, the landowner will usually have to take legal action. This generally means applying to the County Court to serve an order to leave the site. This can take around 10 days to process and the landowner will be charged legal and court fees.
As well as the issues surrounding proper removal of trespassers, landowners should also be aware that they in fact have a duty of care towards trespassers. If you fail to notify trespassers of potential hazards on your land, you could be liable if they are injured on the site even if you have not given them permission to be there. This is particularly pertinent for commercial properties, which generally tend to be more hazardous than domestic dwellings. For adult trespassers it is usually sufficient to put up a fence or perimeter and post warning signs near the entrance. However, for children, who may not be able to read or understand the signs, the landowner may still have to pay compensation for any injuries caused by avoidable hazards on their land (e.g. sharp tools left out).
In order to avoid the legal intricacies that come with dealing with trespassers, many landowners choose to take precautions to prevent trespassers from entering in the first place. Building fences or barriers is the simplest way to do this. For example, many landowners will place concrete blocks in the entrances to vacant land to stop vehicles getting past or a building owner may put up spiked security fencing or barbed wire. Deterrents like these along with private property signage can be enough to keep trespassers away from a site. Businesses which are more exposed to trespassers may also hire security guards or doormen who are trained to deal with trespassers either through reasoning or through employing reasonable force where necessary. The mere presence of security guards can act as a very effective deterrent. Whatever methods you choose to employ, it is important to understand where you stand legally when dealing with trespassers and if you are in any doubt, you should always contact a qualified legal professional.
Find out more about protecting your property against trespassers at www.concrete-barriers-blocks.co.uk. Image courtesy Bill Smith
It’s good to know that signs usually are enough to keep adult trespassers out. I know they won’t keep out everyone, but if it helps a little, that’s worth it in my book! We are starting a new business and trying to decide what we need for security. Signs will definitely be on the list!
Signs didn’t keep out one repeated burglar. We’re having a security gate installed on Monday. But we did have less people wandering toward our loading docks after we put in a few NO TRESPASSING signs.
I think that trespassing is more serious than people realize. It can lead to crimes being committed such as peeping toms, vandilism, and burglary. For this reason, I think that security guards need to be prevelant enough so that people are less likely to trespass.
A CCTV system in place could be a good deterrent, you want to make sure its a good quality HD System not the cheap ones, that way if you do need to identify the trespassers its a lot easier.
My family owns a small business of which I am the manager of, so it is good to know how to handle trespassers on business premises. I didn’t realize that trespassing was a civil matter in most cases, not a criminal one. Do you have any advice on information on what to do in the case of shoplifting?
There are some tricky laws when it comes to trespassers. Thanks for clarifying how to deal with certain issues.
This is some really good information about what to do with trespassers. It is good to know that in most cases it is a civil matter. It does seem like it would be good to have a guard who can tell the difference between harmless trespassing and something more criminal.
A security guard’s presence might make criminals less inclined to make a move on your business, or at the very least, likely to escape with less if they do go ahead with their plans. Security guards are also highly trained to safeguard your company, so are likely to pick up on unusual behaviour around the property or potential security breaches that could arise in the future. Investing in a security guard could end up saving your business money in the long run.
This was helpful. I’m thinking about starting a season small business that involves a floating obstacle course on a lake. It isn’t a permanent structure and would only be set up during the summer months, but would be a huge undertaking to have to take everything down and up again each day. Any advice for deterrring trespassers for this type of business outsides of operating hours?
Thank you for pointing out that it is best practice to call the police to deal with trespassers on your property. My home is in a secluded area, with a couple of neighbors nearby. It’s good to know that if I see someone I don’t know that I can call the police.
All types of businesses need lawyers to provide them with legal guidance regarding aspects such as contracts. Any type of business transaction requires varying levels of negotiations, document preparations and reviews.
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I totally agree that dealing with trespassers can be really tricky. I don’t have my business, but I own an empty lot and some of my neighbors have told me that some intruders have visited the place. Maybe it’s time for me to consider hiring unarmed security guards who could monitor the place while I’m away.
Trespassing is a serious issue and most people do not realize this! I believe that businesses should hire securitty guards to prevent such acts. As security guards play a major role in preventing crimes. FBY Security Services provides a vast range of security guard services to make all personal, industrial, residential, and commercial environments a safer place. Their dedicated team of security guards possesses the skills needed to provide custom-tailored, comprehensive security solutions to meet every industry’s specific needs.