How to Prevent Robbery and Burglary

The death of 63 years old Gurmail Singh, who was attacked in his convenience store on Saturday 20/02/2010 in the village of Cowcliffe, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire is a tragic reminder of the deadly consequences of the crime of robbery.

According to the British Retail Consortium 2009 Retail Crime Survey, robberies doubled in 2009 to about 4 % of retail crime, whilst burglary accounted for up to 9 %. A robbery of an average store in 2009 resulted in an estimated £2,077 loss. This figure excludes damage to the property and other consequences suffer by the store owner.

Robbery occurs at least three times a year on a modest high street.

However, the frequency of these incidents might not be as relevant as the human cost. An employee caught in an incident of robbery could be scared both emotionally and physically for life. By implementing a range of basic preventive measures retailers can make their stores less attractive to any would-be robber or burglar.

How Exposed is Your Organisation?

There are a number of factors to take into consideration when assessing how exposed your business is to a potential robbery:

• Store Location

Urban vs. Rural

Stand alone vs. Located in Retail Park or shopping centre

• Opening Hours

24/7 vs. selected hours;

Customer traffic level at off-peak hours

• Cash Handling Procedures

Private security vs. employee deposit

Use of drop safes

Frequency of deposit

Deposit policies.

• Store Visibility

Bright lighting inside the store

Bright outside lighting

Front-end till visible to outside traffic vs. blocked view

• Access to Major Motorway

Close to major motorway vs. residential, near a city

• Visibility of Local Police Force:

Past history of crime in the area

Known problems with car parks

Physical assaults

Auto theft

Gang or drug related activities.

How to Minimise or Prevent Robbery

The following are a few measures that when implemented will reduce the possibilities of robbery or burglary at any retail store:

1. 1. The Use of CCTV Cameras

Thieves do not like being caught, and a CCTV Cameras in a retail store increases the possibility of them being identified and caught. Therefore, the installation of CCTV can serve as a deterrent. But as with any technology to be effective they need to be operated professionally or they could end up producing the opposite effects.

1. 2. Remove Any Visibility Obstructions

Blinds or tinted windows that can easily conceal a robbery or burglary activities within a retail store are not advisable. Retailers need to ensure that those items that could serve as a barrier and inadvertently aid the crime are not placed in their stores.

1. 3. Reduce Cash and Remove the Incentive

Robberies and burglaries are mainly planned in advance. In many instances the culprits conduct a few days of recon on the area they want to strike checking out the reward and the security measures. Therefore to reduce incentive for an incident of robbery or burglary in a retail environment, retailers need to take the following measures:

• Shop floor cash pick-up activities need to be conducted discreetly so as not to attract excessive public attention. All cash should be transported from the shop floor to the cash office using cash drop boxes.
• Impose cash floor limits on cash registers as well as cash office. Regular collections must be rotated to ensure they remain random.

1. 4. Always Make Eye Contact

Employees need to be taught to make eye contact with customers as this might make anyone with sinister motives uncomfortable and fearing they might have been noticed will abort their plans.

1. 5. Wait for Loss Prevention Personnel

Before transporting cash from the till to the cash room, ensure a loss prevention officer is present, if not two members of staff need to be present. An opportunistic thief will not strike when they observe the presence of a loss prevention officer or two members of staff.

1. 6. Always Secure Drawers

Ensure till, cash-office cash drawers, safes, and doors are secured at all times. Only authorised personnel should have access to the cash room. No visitor including vendor should be given access to the cash room.

1. 7. Procedure For Making Bank Deposit

Wherever possible, cash meant for banking needs to be picked up by a professional security company. However, if that is not possible and it has to be taken to the bank by employees ensure it takes place only in broad daylight and it is completed by a minimum of two employees preferably a manager.

How to Minimise or Prevent Burglary

• Most burglaries are a crime of opportunity carried out by desperate individuals.
• Organised burglary rings mostly target places if they have information or reason to believe that there are items of value kept there.

The payoff for committing burglary at a retail store is unattractive for professionals therefore preventing burglary will require the implementation of the following basic security measures:

• A basic alarm system with movement sensors that covers the entrances, windows, skylights, ceilings and any other high risk area will more or less be enough to protect a store.
• If a burglar enters a store and the alarm goes off, he will try to grab as much as he can and flee as he does not want to be caught therefore does not waste time searching for valuables.
• It is essential that the alarm is monitored so that when it is triggered it is responded to and investigated.
• If there was a breach of security, it is essential that the cause is identified and rectified.

The two essential points that needs to be seriously considered in this article are:

• Robbery and burglary are crimes of opportunity, remove the opportunity and you reduce the possibility.

• The human costs can be devastating for those caught up in an incident of robbery therefore it is imperative that retail organisations do everything within their power to ensure that their stores are difficult to rob or burgle.