Convenience stores often easy targets for criminals

by | Jul 15, 2020 | Uncategorized

Stores can be located anywhere on the street or a few blocks away from your home. You usually go there to purchase groceries or any other thing you need. Or you stop by to purchase a lotto ticket especially when the jackpot is a big one then you’re not alone.

According to findings, over 100 million Americans visit a convenience store on any given day. Each store might serve hundreds or even thousands of customers every day. With over 152,720 convenience stores operating in the United States and growing, they continue to be one of the easiest targets for robberies.

What Qualities Make a Business a Target for Robberies?

1. The business is open during the evening or night

Most convenience stores operate 24 hours a day, that’s why they are such an easy target for robberies. The late evening and early morning hours offer more opportunities when fewer customers and visitors are present to see the crimes to take place. In summary, it’s easier to get away with a robbery operation carried out overnight than in broad daylight.

2. The business has few employees on duty

Have you ever noticed more than two staff members working at a convenience store at the same time? If your answer is YES, then you’re in the minority. Most convenience stores usually have a maximum of two staff members on duty at a time, and this is often only during peak hours. As such, the small number of employees per store makes it extremely difficult to deter, talk less of stopping criminals.

3. Store Layout

The smaller size of convenience stores makes it considerably easier for criminals to navigate its floor plan. They can enter and exit close to the cash register and can see the full layout of the store very quickly after entering. There is typically a single set of doors that allow access to the store, so a criminal does not risk being surprised by a police officer arriving from another entrance.

4. The business uses cash registers

In the event that a criminal is searching for a measure of fast money, at that point robbing a convenience store is probably the best approach to do it. These types of stores stock things, for example, cigarettes, candy, lager, solidified nourishments, and soft drinks. Items of convenience that are normally paid for using money instead of an electronic exchange, in this way prompting a generally huge measure of cash in the register.

Convenience store owners can constrain the measure of cash kept in their sales register. By buying a money control unit, it has a drop sheltered as well as a cash allocator. Representatives can just access a constrained measure of money in the cash gadget. They won’t have the option to touch the money in the safe. If this is stipulated clearly at the entryway of the store, it often acts as visible crime prevention for robbers.

Safety First

Convenience stores got that name because they are just that: handy. Whether you’re in search of a cold beer, a bag of chips or a lotto ticket, your local convenience store is the place you’ll find these items. Unfortunately, it’s also an easy target for criminals. But there are measures convenience stores owners can take to protect their business, their staff, and ensure they continue to thrive and remain….well, convenient!

To prevent robberies in convenience stores, Ranger security can help!

Contact us today and let’s see how we can help!

We serve Houston and its surrounding areas.