Business Security Information

You own or manage a store, restaurant, bank, check-cashing establishment or other similar type of business.  One or more robbers entered your business through the front door and demanded money.  You or your employees complied with the robber(s) demands and gave them the money.  No one was hurt and now the robber(s) have left your business through the back or side door.  The employees locked all the doors so the robber(s) don’t return and have called 911.  Now what?

One of the key components to this scenario is the doors that the robber(s) used to enter and exit the business.  When the police arrive, does it matter what door they are let in?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article called “Bulletproof Enclosures” where I discussed movable bandit barriers or bulletproof enclosures.  Just today I read about a different but very similar type of robbery security measure called a security screen.  The concept is very similar to the movable bulletproof enclosure, but different in that it is a bullet-resistant metal wall.

On a recent trip, I stopped for gasoline and a snack at a convenience store along the highway.  When I entered the store, I noticed a bulletproof enclosure (also called bandit barriers) had been installed at the cashier’s counter.  It was different from other ones I had seen used in check-cashing businesses and banks in that it moved horizontally. The cashier could simply press a switch, and the bulletproof cashier window would open or close.  During the day when the risk of robbery may be less, the window could be left open.  In this way, interaction with customers could occur more easily, and it did not appear as intimidating to those visiting the convenience store.

A couple of weeks ago I went with my family to get some pizza.  It was one of those day we had been rushing around and just wanted to get some good hot food, so pizza it was.  Like most food service businesses, this one had a security camera system that was visible as soon as you walked into the store.  While I was standing there waiting for our pizza, I started looking at the positioning of the security cameras.  What I noticed was that the security cameras covered the cash registers and other employee work areas, but the camera system did not cover the customer area in front of the checkout area.  With this positioning of the cameras, their purpose seemed to be just to monitor employees work and to address internal theft issues.

Well, I really do learn something new almost every day.  I was reading an article in Forbes magazine  the other day about a robbery prevention technique that I had never heard of before.  I thought I would share it with you in this article.

Greeting a Bank Robber

Some banks are now using greeters, like Wal-Mart does, at the entrance to the bank as a robbery prevention tool.  The theory behind this technique is that most criminals do not want to be noticed.  Supposedly if a bank employee looks the criminal in the eye and says hello when they walk into the bank, the criminal no longer has that psychological edge of anonymity and confidence they need to commit the crime.