Convenience Store Robberies on the Rise: Protect Yourself with a Security Survey

I was recently consulted by the owner of a gas station/convenience store in Massachusetts who wanted to know why his store kept getting robbed. The owner was unsure if there was something unique to his store that made him the target of this type of crime. Plus, he wanted to know what he could do to minimize his attraction to robbers. So, the first thing I did was review the crime statistics for his community the neighborhood as well as other surrounding communities to see if it was just the store location that was the problem. It appeared that the crime rate in his neighborhood was consistent with crime rates in surrounding towns. Then I looked at a map to determine whether there were any major roads or highways that would attract a quick get away for a criminal; however this was not the case. There were no quick get away routes from his store. Next was my site visit. I got in the mindset of a criminal and as a robber, did I see anything about his physical store that attracted me. Bam! Right when I pulled into the driveway I saw it. In a haste to advertise what he was offering for sale he thought nothing of safety or security. Sitting in the parking lot, or stopped for the red signal in traffic, I could not see the clerk on duty. The owner had posted advertisements in the window blocking the line of sight. Therefore, if the public couldn’t see the clerk from the street neither could police officers patrolling their route. Perfect target for a robbery; the first thing anybody who is about to commit a crime does is glance over each shoulder. “Can anybody see what I'm about to do?” This is why most convenience stores and other businesses that hold a lot of cash, have big glass windows that face the street and the cash register as close to the windows as possible. To have your business surveyed call me at Suburban Security or visit www.suburbanpatrol.com and Protect Yourself Proactively.