If you own a business/restaurant and you are concerned about the recent spate of armed robberies in Cape Town, be sure to take note of these safety tips and keep them close at hand:
1. Form a network of eyes and ears. Train staff to be alert at all times and immediately report any suspicious customers to management. Don’t only be on the look-out for ‘traditional’ theft or criminal activity - also be attentive to your customers’ behaviour, following their purchase/meal. There has been a sharp increase in incidents where clients/patrons enjoy a business/restaurant’s hospitality and then quickly leave without being noticed and without paying the bill.
2. Be strict with restroom usage. Only allow patrons to use your restrooms. Restrooms are often positioned at the back of a business/restaurant - close to the operational and managerial area - which could give criminals the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the business/restaurant without being noticed. They could also seize the opportunity to grab a staff member and create an armed hostage situation from the inside with partners in crime flocking to the scene from the outside.
3. Install panic buttons or portable armed response activating devices. Install panic button(s) connected to your security company in strategic, unseen places within your business/restaurant and make sure that management and senior staff are aware of them. Arm staff members who move around frequently with portable armed response activating devices.
4. Educate your staff. Inform staff of the various security threats and current crime trends and implement strict house rules regarding security to be upheld at all times. If possible, enrol your key staff members to complete a self-defence course to increase awareness and skill around reacting appropriately should your business/restaurant be a target of a criminal attack.
5. Lock up! Keep all business/restaurant windows and doors locked until you officially start trading.
6. Install a drop safe. Although the initial cash outlay may be fairly high for smaller businesses, the long term benefit of installing a drop safe from a safety perspective is worth it. Decide on an amount and instruct the manager on duty to deposit that amount into the drop safe as soon as it becomes available. In this way you can safeguard your business against large sums of money being stolen at any one time.
7. Advertise your security. Once installed, advertise that the keys to the drop safe are not kept on the premises. If you have appointed an armed response company or security cameras, display their sign board in a prominent place.
8. Monitor your opening and closing times. Many armed response companies offer a service whereby they monitor your opening and closing times by means of anarmed response vehicle or foot patrol. More likely than not the presence of a security patrol will deter robbers from actually committing the crime. When closed to the public either first thing after opening or just before closing, keep doors and windows securely locked at all times.
9. Avoid inside jobs and cash in transit robberies. It is vital that you compartmentalise information about cash transits. Although no one wants to believe that their staff may be leaking information about their business, keeping information about cash transits and deposits on a need to know basis, can assist in avoiding inside jobs from taking place. Eliminate having to transport large cash amounts by paying salaries via EFT or cheques. If this is not possible, frequently vary your routes to and from the bank.
Published with permission from BKMWatch where the original article was found