The type of incident will affect how you operate in the short-term and the decisions you make going forward. You may need to arrange access to ongoing support for yourself, staff and customers, take time off, change shift schedules, etc.
It is good to review your policies and procedures after an incident and make sure that you capture any lessons learned. Guidance for staff may also need amending.
You can also request advice from the police community safety team by calling 101.
Understanding the cause of an incident can help you find an appropriate solution. OSARA is a tool that can help you better understand the problem:
Objection - aim to tackle WHY something is happening
Scanning - identifying and prioritising the most important problem to tackle
Analysis - developing a thorough understanding of the nature, extent and causes of the problem
Response - targeting the underlying causes
Assessment - measuring the impact and making changes to the response as required
Depending on the cause of the incident you may need to work with other businesses, community groups or services to prevent future incidents. The East Cambridgeshire Community Safety Partnership can help you, email emma.graves-brown@eastcambs.gov.uk at East Cambs or email jeremy.reeve@fsb.org.uk at the Federation of Small Businesses to find out more.
The Crime Reduction Toolkit is a good source of information if you want more information on OSARA or the likely effectiveness of tried and tested interventions.