Critical Analysis of the Risks of Robbery

Situational or Case Facts Critical Analysis

Almost the whole town had gone to spectate the game – a once-a-year “grudge match” in which the best young footballers in Melville were pitched against their adversaries in neighboring Santa Georgia. Santa Georgia almost always wins. Comprehensive risk analysis may have identified this situation, a known event and foreseeable, as one that may increase exposure to the risk of robbery.

The situation, in which the bulk of law enforcement in Melville is likely to be occupied with the game and the relative isolation and vulnerability of the petrol station during this time, provides an opportunity to exploit for the adversary. There was also intelligence regard a recent spate of robberies in the area, which would of increased the accuracy of the likelihood analysis.

If this situation, or one similar to it, had been identified during the risk analysis process a range of control measures and mitigations could have been employed to reduce the exposure to risk. (U12, P21)

Just 45 minutes to go until the petrol station closes, and time now to begin counting the cash in the register. Samira had begun to clear a space on the counter Conducting cash handling in an open space creates an additional and completely avoidable exposure to risk.

Good practice dictates that cash should be counted in secure areas (U12, P28); primarily this is to benefit from defense in depth (U5, P34) by adding an additional layer in which the adversary must traverse (i.e. from the public area through to a secure staff area) and increasing the effort required, but also provides a degree of deterrence if a watching adversary witnesses the fact there is a formal procedure to defeat in order to successfully commit the robbery; thus increasing the perceived risk. Both elements are considerations of Situational Crime Prevention (U2, P30).

An elderly couple were chatting in the corner of the store as they looked through the chill cabinet for a microwavable meal. In preparing to begin the store closure procedures whilst customers were in the store, Samira has created a situation where she can be and should expect to be, distracted by other customers.

Best Practice states that during the store closure procedures, staff should work in pairs and increase their vigilance during this time, furthermore entrances and exits should be secured during this process (WorkSafeBC, U12, P27).

A systematic or process-led method to closing the store would of enabled Maria and Samira to develop better situational awareness and by implementing control measures (i.e. locking the doors) they could have positioned themselves to better deter a robbery.

From in between the many posters advertising special offers that adorned the window next to the cash register The location in which Samira has chosen to conduct her cash handling suffers from poor natural surveillance, in the context of CPTED (U12, P23), and the cluttered window works to the robbers' advantage (U12, P23).

A cluttered window provides a degree of cover for a robber, for instance; he can use the cover of cluttered posters on a window to keep his weapon below the poster line, to passing traffic it would appear as though the robber is simply a customer in the store. VendHQ (https://www.vendhq.com/blog/prevent-handle-robberies-theft-retail/) recommends this approach as a means of deterrence.

Taking advantage of better natural surveillance, e.g. by removing the posters around the till, would also increase the feeling of safety for legitimate users (U2, P26) along with the perceived increase exposure of detection to the robber. Given the petrol station's position on a road, positive natural surveillance would have also enabled better casual surveillance.

Samira had seen a Dark blue sedan that had parked up in the shadows of the forecourt, away from the pumps. It was difficult to make out the vehicle exactly as there were a lot of camping gas canisters stacked up outside. The petrol station is suffering from poor external landscaping, and potentially poor lighting, where the camping canisters have provided an ample cover for the robber to wait and observe the petrol station with a degree of obscurity.

Good practice dictates that pile of stores should be avoided (U12, P23), again in support of natural surveillance, not only does this allow for greater vigilance and increase the chances of detection in the very early stages of a robbery; it can also contribute to a sense natural territorial reinforcement and the projection to the adversary of a feeling that he is not in a permissive area to conduct his robbery – that the area is not his to control(U2, P27).

She had expressed these concerns to her more experienced colleague Maria

Maria resolved to have a cursory glance at the car from a distance, as she headed through the staffroom towards the back door to smoke a quick cigarette.

Maria, as the more experienced member of staff, should have been trained on how to recognize suspicious behavior (U12, P25). If so she would have immediately identified that the position of the vehicle and the time (so close to closing) as a recognized indicator of a possible, impending robbery.

Maria did make a cursory glance at the car, however, this seems to evidence the lack of clear procedures in place (U12, P26, P27) to respond to such concerns.

A simple procedure, with subsequent training, would have enabled Maria to recognize the indicators and take immediate action to report her concerns and take immediate action to prevent the individual entering the store.

Almost as soon as Maria had left the sales area, a young male alighted from the vehicle and ran toward the glass entrance door of the petrol station. This was not typical behavior for a customer, reinforced by the fact that he was wearing a long-sleeved top and a woolen hat. It is likely the attacker has chosen this point to attack due to the fact that Maria had left the main sales area and left Samira alone, contrary to best practice for closing procedures (U12, P27).

At this point, with the male running, Samira had a limited opportunity to trigger either a panic alarm or a rapid locking mechanism for the door (if equipped) and prevented the male from entering the store.

Samira wanted to scream as he rushed through the door, pulling out a gun, shouted to the elderly couple to lie down on the floor, and pulled down the hat over his face to form a balaclava. Instead, she froze, steadying herself on the lottery ticket dispenser as her vision began to blur and her heart felt as if it would burst out of her chest Whilst the fear of an actual armed robbery is hard to simulate, enhanced training on immediate actions to be taken would have equipped Samira with a better understanding of what to expect and what to do in such a situation. I.e. deep breathing (U12, P29)

Perhaps the old man would creep up from the darker depths of the store and disable the robber from behind?” she thought. “Could she catch the old man’s attention?”’ During a robbery in progress, it is vital to prevent a customer intervening or in fact any intervention. The safest way to handle a robbery in progress is to play it safe (U12, P29) and avoid resisting.

Had the old man snuck up on the robber, it would have most likely led to a serious yet unavoidable escalation in the robbery, resulting in injury or worse. It is recommended that the intention of staff should be to get the attacker off the premises as quickly as possible (U12, P30), and encouraging any intervention, not least from a customer, is both reckless and is likely to complicate the situation further.

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She desperately needed this job and feared she would be sacked if she just handed over all of the day’s takings, so she started to plead: “Please don’t do this. I need this job. You don’t need to do this, do you? Why are you doing this? Just leave and I’ll say nothing.” By pleading with the robber, Samira has attempted to convince the robber not to carry out his act. The priority in this situation is to remove the robber off the premises as quickly as possible (U12, P30) and avoid speaking out of turn, speaking only when spoken to.

In pleading with the robber, Samira has added a further emotional element into an already intense situation and lost any sense of calm she may have previously displayed, which in turn may make the attacker feel he is losing control of the situation, requiring a reaction.

“We don’t have much cash anyway,” she lied, “my colleague has just taken it to the bank.” Good practice states that in an active robbery situation, lying or bluffing is likely to be unsuccessful as the robber will be more experienced (U12, P30) in this high-pressure situation.

It should be assumed the robber has done his homework in pre-robbery surveillance, in this case, the robber was sat outside in his vehicle for a period, in which he would of ascertained that there would be enough cash in the petrol station to make robbery worthwhile and did not witness her colleague taking the money to the bank.

The robber, as if expecting such a response, went crazy, pointed the gun at Samira’s head, and began to count down “5….4…3 …” “OK, there is some but I don’t think it is much.” She bent down under the counter and reached for the key to open the register, initially dropping it out of her shaking hand and quickly bending down to pick it up. Her life had flashed before her as the robber began to countdown again, and she didn’t dare say another word. Tears welled up in her eyes and her stomach was in knots; she wasn’t even sure her legs had the strength to lift her back up. In a robbery situation, it is vital to remain calm and avoid creating surprises for the robber. Movement may be misinterpreted for threatening behavior, risking a reaction from the robber. (U12,P30)

Samira should of also asked for permission to reach down to get the key from the floor, in this case, the robber could have misinterpreted the act as reaching for a weapon, for example, risking a potentially catastrophic misunderstanding.

Samira glanced nervously over to the staffroom door, hoping Maria was on the other side calling the police on her cell phone

She closed the back door and went back into the store through the staff entrance, picking up a broom on the way. Startled as Maria strode back into the sales area ready to clean up, the robber swung round and his finger instinctively tightened around the trigger. The force of the bullet smashing into Maria’s chest knocked her backward, and she collapsed into a large advertising hoarding. Best practice in active robbery situations recommends informing the robber of anyone else in the facility, in order to prevent any surprises or startling the robber. (U12,P30).

In this case, that is precisely what happened, with Samira not informing the robber of Marias' presence. Subsequently, in the high pressured environment of an active robbery, he has become startled and discharged his firearm, shooting Maria. This could have been potentially avoided had Samira informed him of another staff member’s presence.

Sobbing for mercy, a terrified Samira opened the cash register and snatched at the notes from the till. There was a locked safe under the counter for the bigger notes and she reached into her pocket for the keys to that also Indicating there is another area of cash storage or a safe, when it is not apparent the robber is aware of their existence serves two adverse purposes; 1 it keeps the robber on the premises for longer and 2 increases the loss caused by the robbery.

Best practice states that employees should not look towards areas of cash storage or safes (U12, P30) and be led by the attackers' demands.

There was a silent alarm button next to the under-counter safe, and her boss had told her that she should press it if ever a robbery occurred. Activating the alarm at this juncture would be a dangerous move, if the alarm when activated, and although ‘silent’, has some form of confirmatory response such as a vibration or an external flashing light, then this may alert the robber. Alternatively, if the robber sees Samira reaching to press something, again a sudden or unexpected movement, he may react adversely.

Best practice dictates that alarm activation and securing of the store should only take place after the robber has left (U12, P31) for this reason.

Looking into the robber’s piercing, cold eyes, she pleaded with him to be allowed to count the cash first. In staring at the robber Samira runs the risk of further aggravating him (U12,P30). At this point, and with someone already shot and the violence threshold already breached, the robber is likely to become more irrational and focus on getting out of the store with the cash with haste.

This may also be misconstrued by the attacker as a stalling tactic, assuming she had activated an alarm (U12, P30).

“My boss will kill me if he doesn’t know how much has been taken.” This statement speaks of the organizational culture at the petrol station; as the fundamental principle is that cash and valuables can be replaced, people cannot (U12, P29).

Samira’s primary concern should be dealing with the active situation and bring it to a conclusion, in order to be able to assist Maria who is critically wounded. Better training and management communication would allow Samira to be better focused during a robbery and dismiss any concerns about the loss of cash or property.

He was aware that the premises were covered by CCTV, and he demanded the recorder. Samira explained that it was in the staffroom. By using an onsite CCTV recording system, staff are placed at a higher risk, as demonstrated in this example (U12, P24). The time the robber has to stay in the location in order to complete his aims is extended and prolongs staff and customer exposure to potential harm.

By transmitting CCTV images off-site, to a cloud-based storage medium for example (U9, P16), evidence can be preserved for investigation and staff members, who cannot hand over or destroy an intangible piece of data, are subsequently put at lower risk.

The robber went over to the old man, who was prostrate and trembling by the coffee machine and clutching the hand of his wife. Pointing the gun at the old man’s head the robber made clear to Samira the consequences of not coming back out of the staffroom with the recorder. Once out of sight, Samira ran toward the back door, opened it, and ran for what seemed like an eternity. With customers in the store and facing a real and known threat to life (e.g. the firearm pointed at the customer's head), Samira should have focused on carrying out the robbers' instructions and bringing the robbery to a conclusion without further injuries.

As mentioned earlier the fundamental principle in an armed robbery is that cash and property can be replaced, people cannot. This should have been Samira’s primary concern and there is no doubt she, as a representative of the company, has a duty of care to her customers. (U12, P29)

By running, Samira has knowingly put lives at risk, not least of her colleague who is lying injured with gunshot wounds. This is likely to further agitate the robber who at this point may have resigned to the fact that he cannot remove or destroy CCTV footage may seek to kill or injure the witnesses in the store in order to obscure his tracks.

When she felt she could run no further, she hid in a ditch, almost oblivious to the wailing sirens of the police cars as they sped by. She pulled out her cell phone and called her mother, and through sobs and trembles, related the story of what had happened. Her mother warned her of the repercussions of being too helpful in identifying the robber, in case he was a gang member. Samira should have focused on the preservation of life and as soon as both safe and possible, should of dialled the local emergency number and alerted the Police. Given the situation of; one staff member seriously wounded and two customers under threat, Samira had a duty to ensure she had done everything possible to provide assistance.

In speaking with her mother, Samira has placed at jeopardy the recollection, which should be provided immediately to the police as a statement (U12, P32). Furthermore, Samira’s mother