This public service article was compiled by Mike Vrettos, Freddie Van Wyk and Lisa Letord on behalf of the Mount Road Business Forum:
What makes your business a robbery target?
For a robbery to occur the business must have a commodity that is sought and easily disposed of; this could either be cash, jewellery, cigarettes, mobile phones, alcohol, precious metals, dependence producing pharmaceutical product or fast moving commercial products as some examples.
The most common armed robberies in Gqeberha involve cash, gold coins, mobile phone and cigarettes. All of the above with the exception of cash (cash does not need a market) have a ready market for the robbers to dispose of their ill gains for a reasonable profit.
How do robbers pick their targets?
Most robberies target businesses where the suspects have either obtained inside information or where they have spent time watching the means by which business operates, looking at security, cameras, procedures and habits of staff (Casing the business).
What does the robber need to ensure that a successful robbery can take place?
Anonymity: The robber or group of robbers needs to be able to reach their target without being seen and to be able to take their target by surprise.
Information: A robber needs information before he will formulate a plan to rob you. The robberies by groups do not occur with the off chance that they will be rewarded they are properly planned.
Reward: The robber or group of robbers need access to the product or commodity they are targeting. As such they need to be confident that their efforts will result in them successfully achieving a reward for their efforts.
Time: The robber or group of robbers need to enter a premises and have access to their targeted product/commodity in the shortest possible time (Time is their enemy).
Escape route: The robber or group of robbers need to have a viable escape route to evade capture.
If you want to prevent robberies you have to remove the elements that provide the robbers with advantages. Two of the above elements that you can target are anonymity and time. These are both critical elements that a robber (especially the professionals) takes into account. Take these away and the robber will rather consider an easier target. Bear in mind he does not rob to be caught.
The other elements mentioned above are a lot more difficult to control or influence.
How do I take away the anonymity of a robber or group of robbers?
Have CCTV cameras in passages and stores, yes the robbers will know where their locations are and will normally wear floppy hats or baseball caps to prevent recognition so as to avoid being recognized later when reviews take place. Counter this by placing additional cameras at lower angles near entrance ways.
Have security placed where they view every person entering, have them monitor people that act in suspicious manners or who hang around without any plausible reason (These aspects are discussed in more detail under the sections referring to security services).
Have security approach these suspicious looking persons hanging around without purpose and let them ask if they can assist them.
How do I prevent my staff providing information to criminal elements?
This is a very difficult aspect to control as staff may have many reasons why they would hand over information; a few examples are set out below:
A staff member may be addicted to drugs and need to obtain more cash to sustain the habit or may need to settle a debt with a drug dealer.
A staff member may have a gambling habit and for obvious reasons be short of cash.
A staff member may be aggrieved due to pay issues, either they feel that they should be earning more or that the business has not paid them overtime that they felt they were entitled to.
A staff member may stay in an area where criminal elements have heavy influence; employees staying in such areas could feel obligated to provide information on request of such criminal elements in order to ensure their own safety.
Staff members may be aggrieved about the manner they are treated by management at work, may consider their treatment as unfair and provide info as a manner of getting revenge.
The above are just some of the reasons why an employee may give the criminal element critical information regarding your business and as such one can see it is extremely difficult to contain sensitive info.
Some practises that can assist you are as follows:
Most businesses do not entertain loans to staff; I for the most part agree with this as providing loans can assist those that cannot manage their finances into a deeper hole thereby opening up opportunity that they could end up stealing or provide info that will lead to a robbery. Loans as such should be treated with care and be entertained only under exceptional circumstances.
When cashing up occurs limit the number of staff involved (where possible) and count the takings in private. Try to avoid ever cashing up in view of customers as this will only entice the wrong element to target you.
Never allow the cash in tills to sum up to large totals; have practises where cash is regularly moved away from the floor to a safe and secure lock up. Robbers with good info will know if your safe can be accessed by any staff in your store. As such it is better to have a drop safe where no one in store has access other than whoever is responsible for depositing takings at the bank.
Avoid at all costs a set routine in cash handling, and should you personally bank and not make use of CIT services keep changing the routine to prevent being followed and to prevent criminals being a step ahead. (Please view section relating to criminals following people to and from banks).
Maintain good relations with staff and institute integrity talks where one discusses the dangers of providing information to criminal elements
This can involve criminal charges against the employee or they could be held accountable for the death/injury of a colleague or customer in the event of an armed robbery where they have been complicit), discuss pilferage and the risk that pilferage committed by staff can put the business at risk of closing or could lead to criminal charges against those involved.
Staff that are treated well feel a sense of loyalty to their management and the company they work for and there is a good chance that they will inform you of things they see or hear (please bear in mind I refer to the majority and not all).
I have these discussions with all my new security staff and find that after the talk’s members are willing to come and inform me of things they see or hear, this has already assisted me in averting an armed robbery planned to occur at business where I work. It has also assisted me to solve many cases where pilferage or syndicated theft is occurring.
One must also take into account that some employees will not always provide information unless they are asked if they have knowledge of any crime or planned crime. This is not because they support the criminals or their colleagues who may be involved but may very well be because they do not want to provide info if they have no proof. Get your employees to provide info even if it turns out to be false and rather avert a situation.
Effectiveness of cameras
CCTV cameras are a very effective deterrent and security tool but are also limited in effectiveness if not managed and monitored by competent well trained CCTV controllers. In the majority of business concerns they only get utilized to identify criminals or incidents after the fact.
The issue with choosing the correct CCTV camera platforms is that there are also numerous CCTV suppliers competing with one another to obtain your business amongst them are many unscrupulous service providers that will promise the world when it comes to what they have to offer. This usually comes at a significant cost. With this in mind before a significant investment is made it is advisable to test the market and their wares thoroughly before purchasing.
Before installing cameras the following must be taken into account
What do I need the cameras to monitor – Do I want the cameras to monitor my own staff, my customers or both?
I like to look at a CCTV camera as a multi-purpose tool that can assist me in providing a secure environment, can be utilized as a tool to help identify problems/statistics in the normal course of business and be utilized as a Health and Safety measure. This means that the camera is not only there to monitor criminals but can fulfil multiple functions that can enhance my business.
Do I need the camera system as a proactive or reactive tool to enhance my security?
The only way that the camera can be utilized to be a pro-active tool is if it is being constantly monitored. In many shopping centres and the larger retail stores camera rooms manned by security personnel are in place. This aspect however does not mean that they are competent CCTV operators. If you are contracting CCTV monitoring to a security service provider ask them to provide you with proof of the training these operators have been provided with to act as CCTV operators. If it is claimed that they have been trained; was the training provided by an accredited training centre and what aspects of training did it entail?
How long must my CCTV recording platform retain footage?
The industry norm is approx. 19 days and costs rise steeply should you increase the length of time required for retaining footage. It would as such depend on your business type and your requirement for viewing recorded footage that should determine the length of time required to store footage.
Examples are: If you do monthly stock takes and discover discrepancies it would be of little use having only a week or two of footage.
What clarity of image do I require my cameras to provide?
Again the clearer the footage over long distances the more costly. Smaller rooms can easily be covered by a wide lens 2 mega pixel camera, larger areas would require 4 mega pixel and above clarity and specific lens capabilities to obtain required imagery.
If at an entrance to monitor people coming and going
Do I need to identify the persons entering at the entrance point?
In this you need to have zoomed in and zoomed out image capability; I would advise against a camera that is manually operated to do both at an entrance as you could lose important footage while zooming in as the camera will only record the zoomed in image and not what is happening around the zoomed in image. Having a camera along the ceiling pointing to the entrance will give you an overview. You can consider a covert camera hidden in an object (hip to shoulder height) close the entrance to capture close ups that can be utilized to identify individuals. The ceiling camera should have sufficient mega pixel and lens capability to be effectively reviewed on playback.
How CIT services should be maintained at your business:
In the event that you make use of a CIT (Cash In Transit) service to fetch and bank your takings please consider the following:
If the CIT personnel enter your premises and fetch cash from a cash office then you, your staff and customers will always be at risk. This is the easiest transaction to observe for both employees and customers and they end up being predictable. The pick-ups of cash place large risk of injury to staff and customers as robbers will be nervous and jumpy whilst committing a robbery as such any perceived threat can lead to shots being fired.
If the CIT personnel pick up cash from drop safes the risk is not diminished as the CIT personnel are vulnerable once they have emptied the drop safe and until they have safely moved the cash to their awaiting armoured vehicle. Due to the fact that the pick-ups are done in exactly the same manner it is relatively simple to observe and plan a robbery.
In the shopping centre environment a successful robbery is guaranteed due to the fact that it is easy for a number of suspects to mingle amongst crowds of shoppers unnoticed.
Usually only one CIT officer picks up cash and uses a trolley to wheel such to their awaiting vehicle. In most of the recorded robberies they are taken by surprise and lose the cash as well as the firearm that in most cases they did even have a chance to draw. I must admit that this is probably best as there is less chance of a shootout.
In order to turn the tide on the criminals one has to take away the advantages that the criminal has and has to change the way we do the cash pick-ups radically.
In order to take away the advantages especially in a shopping centre environment one has to have no crowds and an empty car park. This obviously means that the cash pick-ups need to occur outside of normal shopping hours and basically once the shopping centre has gone into lockdown.
The only people then at risk are the onsite security personnel; CIT personnel and the shop owners. The risk on them can however be mitigated by having properly formulated procedures on how these pick-ups occur considering that it should be virtually impossible for a group of armed robbers to approach the shopping centre without being observed.
Robberies of cell phone shops, jewellery shops and other similar types of businesses:
These are the most difficult robberies to prevent because the stock that the robbers want needs to be displayed and as such is readily available (in the case of mobile phones they are usually stored in in the back areas of stores. I have watched several video clips of various stores in GQ where such robberies took place with ease.
An interesting one was at a GQ shopping centre off William Moffatt where several robbers entered in small groups but were dressed so unusually that I was shocked that the centre security CCTV personnel and security personnel on the ground did not pick them up as suspicious. I can only ascribe this to a total lack of training by the then security service provider.
Having these high risk type businesses in a mall especially situated close to entrances is problematic and needs extra security measures in place to mitigate the inherent armed robbery risk. They tend to be the most difficult to make “robbery unfriendly”.
In these types of premises it is critical that the cash handling and storage of stock is segregated in a properly secured cash office/store room. This room should have strong walls, a secured ceiling and a strengthened door with peephole. One should never leave stock cages/safes open in an unsecured room.
Special focus must be given when unlocking is done in the mornings and locking up as these are the times staff will be vulnerable. Before unlocking take note of people that may be loitering in the area. If you have noted suspicious people rather call security before unlocking and wait until these have been checked out. People loitering carrying large duffel bag type bags and persons wearing headgear that obscures their identity should be a warning sign.
Some points to ponder on:
The banks have double door entry points which if incorporated at these types of high risk shops are an effective control of movement. Robbers do not like the fact that they may become trapped and cannot escape.
Fogger type systems have been in use for some time and have proved to be very effective. Once activated these systems fill a medium sized room with a mist; you can breathe but you cannot see. The only thought that will go through the mind of a robber under these circumstances is to escape. Note: I would recommend that a presentation and practical test is arranged with a service provider specializing in this type of equipment. The security service provider providing security at your facility could be asked to arrange this with a suitable company.
Research the various detection systems that can be placed at entrances to detect firearms; most are really expensive but may be worth investigating if you are serious about creating a safe environment.
Have sufficient hidden panic buttons installed; these should be linked to both the armed response company providing alarm solutions to your business and to the security company control room at the mall where your business is situated.
Banking and withdrawals:
In Gqeberha we have a large number of the criminal element that focus their criminal activities on following business owners and private individuals to and from the banks with the aim of robbing them. There are regular articles in the newspapers relating to people being robbed either on the way to the bank with their deposits or after withdrawing large sums of money. Many of these criminals were former bank and CIT robbers who have realized that this is the easiest and least risky type robbery. These same criminals still commit large scale robberies when the opportunity presents itself but large scale robbery opportunities are scarce and due to the expensive tastes of the professional robber they have to ensure that they have a regular flow of cash; hence the opportunism with following people at the banks.
What makes it easy for these robbers?
Number 1: We are creatures of habit especially when it comes to banking our business takings; we usually go on the same day, send the same person and use the same branch of the bank. All I have to do is walk into a bank, join the queue and watch the various people in front of me. Those depositing large amounts of cash usually have a bag which they have to present to the teller in full view of all behind them. This then gets counted by machine, the longer the process the more I realize the extent of cash being deposited. Now you have become interesting; so once you have completed your transaction I walk out with you and watch what vehicle you arrived in. I make a call to some friends parked nearby and provide your description and vehicle make. They proceed to follow you back to your business. They may decide to act like customers and enter your business premises to check out your security measures to see if it might be worth their while to rob you there. They will now watch your business to see if you have a routine. Once a routine has been established they will decide whether robbing you at work before you leave for the bank or robbing you en route is viable.
Number 2: We do not heed warnings about drawing significant amounts of cash at the banks. In this type of scenario I again enter the bank and join the queue, I watch you draw money at the teller. Once again the longer the teller takes to count your money in the cash counter the more I am interested. I now know you have drawn a significant amount of cash and as you leave I follow you. Once outside of the bank I make a call to my friends and describe you and your vehicle. I also go as far as observing where you stash the cash you have just withdrawn in your vehicle and pass this on to my friends. I will not take part of the robbery that will occur shortly as I know the police will look at the banks footage and ask you if you can identify anyone in the bank that was part of the robbery. You will be followed and if an opportunity arises where you can be taken they will initiate a robbery.
Do not think that you will be able to pick these criminals out in the various banks, they dress casually are very friendly and do not look like what people would stereotype as a skollie. They make use of hired vehicles usually done in such a manner that the vehicle cannot be traced back to them.
They operate throughout the entire GQ; Uitenhage and Despatch area and target all of the big name banks. Several bank staff have got to know them and know what they are up to but are powerless in doing much about them being present in the banks. They will always be prepared to make a R50 deposit should they be challenged inside the bank.
What are the police doing about these criminals?
The main problem is that the city is broken up into precincts; there is very little communication between these police precincts in trending these crimes. If one robbery occurs in the Mount Road precinct, one robbery in the Walmer precinct and one in the Humewood precinct their individual stats will not be alarming. Every once in a while when these groups get too brazen the police will cotton on to the fact that there is a problem and start a task team to tackle them.
Due to the fact that these robbers have better Intel than the police they already know that a task team is being put together and they will leave town for a while until the police break up the task team due to the successful (sic) operation that brings down the robbery statistics. This is unfortunately the facts of how it works.
Tips on how to avoid robberies when either depositing or withdrawing cash from the bank:
After reading the above methods these suspects utilize some of the tips are quite obvious.
Our number one enemy is our own habits, in this we need to ensure that we are not predictable.
Where possible rather allow CIT companies to deposit your takings. If this is not financially viable for your business then consider the following:
Rotate staff responsible for banking.
Change banking times on a regular basis.
Do not use the same branch of the bank where you deposit your takings (difficult for mall shops).
Take note of all persons in the queue, watch out for anyone following.
Try to utilize the business banking booth that is private (not all branches have these).
Effectiveness of security personnel:
Having security at a premises can be of value but will not deter a robbery unless the security personnel are very well trained. Criminal elements are well aware that the majority of security staff are unarmed and as such not much of a threat.
I personally am against the use of armed security personnel for the following reasons:
Training by security groups on proper handling of firearms is at most basic, mostly reliant on the fact that the member has underwent his/her firearm competency tests.
This may assist a security officer about law, safety etc. but does not prepare them for tactical use of a firearm especially in an urban setting.
Having an armed security officer retaliating during an armed robbery will most likely result in a shootout which unfortunately usually ends up with innocent staff or customers being in the firing line.
The armed officer is now also a further invitation to an armed attack for criminal elements wanting to obtain weapons.
Security firms who provide armed security personnel will attest to the fact that there are many cases where irearms are unintentionally discharged due to negligent use or handling.
Training and effectiveness of security personnel:
The security industry has become a very competitive industry with many security service provider companies opening up and competing for an ever dwindling market. With this the larger companies have had to reduce many structures that were commonly held in the past to drop costs so as to remain competitive and viable business concerns. We as clients of security companies have not helped the situation as paying for security is a grudge payment and we are also trying to improve our bottom line profits in a difficult market and as such rightfully so; costing of security services is one of the foremost factors we consider when obtaining security service services.
Due to lower profit margins the security service providers tend to shy away from expending funds to train their security personnel to higher levels of expertise to maintain a profit margin that will keep them in business.
This has led to very limited training being offered to security personnel by their management with a reliance on the fact that the security officer has the under mentioned:
Has valid PSIRA registration – Please note that short cuts are sometimes taken and these checks do not always occur with certain security service providers. You can check this yourself for peace of mind on the PSIRA web page utilizing the members ID number. The law is specific in that the onus is on both the security service provider and the client utilizing the security service to ensure that only registered officer are utilized for security duties at your premises.
Undergoes a criminal record check – Please note that short cuts are sometimes taken and these checks do not
occur. I would recommend that you ensure that the service provider presents proof that all the security officers placed at your business have undergone a criminal record check. The last thing you need is a criminal at the heart of your operations dressed as a trusted security officer. I have seen this happen with even the larger more reputable security service providers.
Receives a basic induction into security practises by their own company and this usually covers their companies policies and procedures:
Receives limited training on the client requirements – The effectiveness of the onsite training is determined by the person providing this training and their knowledge of the client requirements. Most security personnel as such gain experience only once they have been catapulted onto a site and are expected to protect people and property with very little tools to do so.
What can I expect from my security service provider?
Under ideal circumstances you can expect that the security service:
Can conduct an accurate risk survey of your business to provide with a comprehensive report on risks and mitigation measures to counter such risks.
Put procedures in place that cover all aspects of emergency handling and ensure that security personnel are properly trained on such.
Has personnel that are trained to investigate any incidents and eventualities and able to provide you the client with a comprehensive report including recommended mitigation measures to prevent re-occurrences.
On-going training of the security personnel in order for them to continuously improve their effectiveness.
Keeps you updated to crime trends and latest technological advances to combat crime.
The client needs to consider the following before engaging the services of a security service provider:
How many security personnel members do I need to sufficiently cover my premises?
Bearing in mind that the security service provider will probably overestimate the coverage to increase revenue it may be advisable to also have an independent person assessing your needs.
What security grade should my members be?
Since Grades E and D have fallen away most clients opt for Grade C level officers as these are the most cost effective, officers at a Grade A and B level will increase your security costs dramatically. The main problem with Grade C levels is that there is usually a high turnover of staff as they will move on should a better job opportunity arise, due to a slightly better pay rate Grade A and B members tend to be more stable.
What do I expect these security personnel members to do for me?
There have to be clear job descriptions and works instructions in place if you want the officers to provide you with a satisfactory service, in other words do you want a store dummy in uniform at an entrance or an effective security tool. I would advise you as the client to become closely involved in what you expect and not leave this only up to the security service provider to decide.
Security personnel in a shopping mall environment:
One of the main problems in controlling security in a mall environment is that there are usually security service providers covering the entrances and passages and other security service providers providing security to individual stores within the mall. Due to the competiveness of obtaining security contracts the various security companies do not interact with one another and do not co-operate in making the environment safe as a team. None of these companies want to provide their competitors with an edge and as such all lose due to this professional jealousy.
The larger malls can consider forcing the co-operation by creating a joint operation centre where the various companies have representatives present and all info coming in is shared and sent out to all. The Centre CCTV control rooms are usually the best place to base such operational rooms.
Making the roving security personnel more effective:
Having security officers posted at entrances and patrolling the passages is a good thing but is not effective unless these officers are properly trained as to what to look out for. They need the following training to beef up their effectiveness:
Need to be shown video clips of robberies (There are many available on YouTube) and then be briefed and trained on how to report suspicious persons, how to monitor their movements and how to react should a robbery take place. Their role here would not be to tackle the robbers but more in evacuating and protecting both customers and shop staff.
Need to be trained on what to look for when patrolling, this is not only to look for suspicious persons but also to look at for possible risks and hazards within the areas they patrol and can include the following as just some examples:
- Missing fire extinguishers.
- Water on floors that can cause people to slip.
- Lost children.
- Contractors working in areas where a fire can start, security can check that these contractors are working safely.
- Hand rails that have become loose and can injury etc etc etc.
- Need to know how to effectively communicate on either mobile phone or hand held radios when under stress.
- Need to be properly trained as to the aspects of law pertaining to arrest of suspects (Currently the training provided to officers in this regard leaves a lot to be desired and is critical as false arrests can lead to civil claims and reputational risk to the shopping centre or individual stores). Need to be properly trained is searching persons; bags and vehicles. I have not found any security service provider placing focus on this aspect although it is a critical skill.
Training of staff in robbery handling:
It is vital that all staff undergo training on how to behave and react during an armed robbery. This training can be provided by your security service provider and is a real necessity to ensure that nobody gets hurt or worse.
