Better safe than sorry: Crime proof your business

• Keep sight lines in and out of the store clear by removing signs and displays from window areas.
• Remove any displays and stock that provide a hiding place.
• Keep smaller merchandise close to the cash register or in locked cases.
• Don’t put expensive merchandise near the entrance or exit.
• Have all side or service doors locked at all times.
• Maintain adequate lighting inside and out.
• Install window stickers, height markers and cash handling stickers.
• Keep any alarm or camera system properly serviced and ensure employees are familiar with its use.
• Encourage police vehicles, as well as taxis, to use your business lot especially during evening and night hours of operation.
• Have deliveries made during evening or night hours of operation to promote increased activity around the store whenever possible.
• Keep the police emergency number on or by the phone at all times.

• Keep cash float levels at a minimum. Large amounts of cash make great targets.
• Occasionally record serial numbers and denominations of bills in the register, these bills could help identify a thief after a robbery.
• Do not count cash or open the safe in public.
• Avoid routines in patterns of work that may tip a robber off to the best time to strike.
• Make bank deposits during banking hours and use an unmarked package to transport the money whenever possible.
• Make regular bank deposits but at do it irregular times.

• Greet or assist customers as they come into the store. A robber does not want to be identified.
• Ask people who are loitering if they need any assistance. A robber does not like attention.
• Watch for suspicious loiterers outside, in cars or on foot.
• Pay attention to people who
  • Avoid eye contact with staff;
  • Seem to pay more attention to the staff than the merchandise;
  • Stay in hard-to-see areas of the store; 
  • Are carrying large bags or wearing baggy clothing;
  • Are with a group – especially if they split up when they enter and divide the staff’s attention;
  • Take a lot of merchandise into a changing room.
• Be suspicious of persons asking about your security or cash-handling system.

If you become suspicious about a person or a vehicle note the description and contact the police immediately.

• Safety is always the main concern.
• Handle the situation calmly. Do not panic.
• Follow the robber’s directions to the best of your ability without endangering your own life or that of your customers.
• Do not argue or withhold cash from the robber.
• Advise the robber if there are any other employees or customers in the store to avoid startling him/her and triggering an attack.
• Remember to hand the robber the money with your recorded serial numbers.
• Keep any note that the robber passes to you and handle it by the edges only.
• Observe carefully so that you can describe and identify the robber to the police.
• Remember any place the robber touches so the police can check for fingerprints.
• Do not attempt to overpower the robber. He/she may be armed.
• Watch the height marker as the robber leaves.

• Activate any alarm when you feel it is safe to do so.
• Call the police immediately. Tell them
  • the name and exact location of your business
  • the description of the robbers
  • direction of travel and
  • whether or not they are armed.
• Do not hang up until the police officer does. He/she may wish to get more information.
• Lock all doors to prevent the robber from getting back into the store and to preserve evidence for the police.
• Ask any witnesses to wait for the police to arrive.
• Do not discuss the robbery with witnesses or other employees, only with the police.
• Write down your observations as soon as possible as you may need them in court.
• Notify company officials.
• Be factual. Do not exaggerate.
• Do not estimate the value of property or the amount of cash.