The business she owns with Glen Lieschke, Multiclean Pools & Spas, has been victim to a string of break-ins and vandalism, including the recent theft of two high pressure water cleaners

“This is the first time we've actually had something taken," Medwell says.

"Other than that we've got a lot of smashed windows; we had a [staff member's] motorbike stolen out the back of our shop . . . we had the roller door yanked up.

“It's shocking, it's absolutely shocking.”

The Lavington store is close to a Club X, which attracts people to the area at all hours, and Medwell says a number of young people also hang out in the vicinity drinking alcohol.

She says running a small business is tough enough without the added burden of paying insurance excess every time a window is smashed, or signwriters if their signage is damaged.

“To have something like that happen – it certainly puts a dampener on everything,” Medwell says.

While the business owners are now installing CCTV cameras, and police have promised more drive-bys, the owners are relieved that the offender responsible for the recent burglary is in jail.

A recent survey commissioned by ADT Security found that a third of Australian small businesses have been affected by crime and one in five lose more than 10 per cent of their annual profit to theft.

The Small Business Crime Index survey of 500 small- to medium-sized business owners and 500 employees found the most common crime is burglary, followed by employees stealing merchandise, and shoplifting.

Incidents can range from the unusual, such as when thieves cooked themselves a three-course meal at an Indian restaurant in Melbourne this month and took a few menus home, to the extremely violent – and everything in between.

Melbourne bike shop owner Bryn Sutton was taken by surprise when thieves jimmied open the front and committed a “snatch and grab” of two high-end bikes valued at about $2000 each, damaging his store in the process.

“It's a secure block here as well, the gates are shut at night,” Sutton says.

“I think it was planned. I think the person came in and looked at the bikes. You never know who it was, but I've got an idea.”

Sutton has now had two large deadbolts fitted, along with another security alarm and camera, which cost him a couple of thousand dollars he believes were well spent.

He says that while the robbery hurt his business, “You've just got to move on."

Melbourne's Toplock Locksmiths founder Justin Fankhauser says the majority of robberies are committed by opportunists.

“They'll look for the weakest attack,” Fankhauser says.

“If someone wants to get in they're going to get in, but what we try and do is make it less appealing.”

Fankhauser has written a book based on his 12 years in the business – Confessions of a Locksmith: An Insider's Guide to Securing Your Home and Business.

He says many small businesses make the mistake of neglecting to re-key their premises when they first move in, leaving them open to burglaries by anyone who has ever held a key to it.

“The previous business would have had cleaners, they would have disgruntled staff members,” Fankhauser says.

Re-keying doesn't involve changing the locks entirely, he says, but changing the barrel in the lock, which might cost $150 to $300 for two or three doors.

In one case, Fankhauser visited an office where an employment agency had been entirely cleaned out in its first few days of business.

He says the robbers turned up in a delivery truck and took everything in one hit.

Money or anything easy to sell quickly – such as iPhones, iPads or other devices – are popular with robbers, Fankhauser says.

In the case of protecting your business from potentially dodgy employees, Fankhauser recommends installing a restricted key system, where the key can only be copied by a nominated locksmith, who then only cuts keys for authorised staff.

Other security measures include installing CCTV footage and an alarm system, fitting grills on the windows and blocker plates around the door lock.

For those short on cash, Fankhauser recommends re-keying the locks as the first priority and then perhaps installing a fake camera or leaving a radio on during the day.

Fankhauser says when it comes to deadlocks, business owners must be aware of specific regulations for different types of business premises.

For more details, consult the Building Code of Australia or visit the Australian Building Codes Board website at www.abcb.gov.au.