According to a survey of business leaders across the retail, construction, education and manufacturing sectors, 28% of organizations saw an increase in security incidents in 2022 compared to the previous year.

The State of Physical Security Entering 2023 report from Pro-Vigil found that the percent increase in security incidents in 2022 remained steady when compared to 2021, which also saw 28% of business leaders being impacted by an increase in physical security incidents. In 2022, 69% of respondents indicated no change in the amount of security incidents at their business, and 3% noted a decrease in security incidents.

The survey, which asked respondents to identify enterprise security risks, incidents and response, shared findings across sectors regarding what factors led to security incidents in 2022. When asked to rank what factors caused security incidents at their businesses, 39% of respondents listed the state of the economy as a factor, followed by 26% noting supply chain issues.

Of the types of physical security incidents experienced by businesses in 2022, 48% were classified as theft and 13% were classified as vandalism. In 2022, 35% of respondents did not experience any security incidents.

To reduce the risk of physical security incidents and better respond if one occurs, 58% of businesses implemented new security strategies in 2022. Forty-seven percent of surveyed businesses installed video surveillance technology in 2022; 22% installed fencing; and 14% implemented an alarm system. Other methods explored by businesses in 2022 included employing security guards, bolstering access control and deploying remote video monitoring technology.

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