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Schools and colleges have vacant buildings at times due to declining enrollment, program cessation or other reasons.  Vacant property poses risks and hazards including fire, water damage/mold, weather-related damage, damages due to lack of maintenance or supervision, and environmental exposures, along with a range of crime – vandalism, arson, theft of contents, sprinkler units and copper or other metals, etc.  Criminals target vacant buildings, especially those that are not secured and without power.

A study in Austin, Texas found that vacant buildings generate 1.8 times as many theft calls and twice the number of violent crimes.  The National Fire Protection Association reported in 2003-2006 that U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 31,000 structure fires in vacant buildings per year.  These fires resulted in $642 million in property damage per year.

 Tips to protect vacant property:

An employee’s personal injury can turn into costly litigation without the interactive process.  Following these simple steps will help you avoid this.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM).  This is why*!

—Cyber-crime damage costs to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021

—Cyber-security spending to exceed $1 trillion from 2017 to 2021

—Direct attacks on individuals to effect 6 billion people by 2022

—Global ransomware costs exceeded $5 billion in 2017

—Educational and public sector institutions are targeted—according to Verizon’s 2018 Data Breach Investigation Report** 43% of incidents reported impacted the education and public sector.

Following are some tips to help you and your organization avoid becoming part of these statistics: