Why is robbery on the increase?

Robbery is the taking or attempting to take something of value from another person by threats of violence or by violence itself. Robbery can be committed against an individual person, an organization like a bank or even businesses. Robbery is a felony in all states of the world. There are two kinds of robberies which have been happening in our organization namely: Violent robbery where one uses weapons and aggravated robbery (use of toy pistols) where one uses a very deadly weapon or an imitation of a deadly weapon.

It is with great concern that the company has continued to loose a lot of its assets and employees through robbery and it is therefore with this concern in mind that we have to set out the ways to minimize this vice.

Our Company lost three employees and close to 30000 dollars last year as a result of robbery with violence. It is therefore in this accord that I decided to consult a lot of organizations and stakeholders in the security sector to get the possible advice of how we can be able to reduce this vice. Among the people I consulted are the Police units of this country and the various prominent security companies in this nation. I got the relevant information which I do wholly believe will be of help to our organization.

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My report has dealt with the initial definition of the term Robbery and I have outlined the objectives of my report. The findings and outcomes of my research have also been addressed as well as the very sensitive places/areas we need to direct our security manpower to.

Lastly I have given crucial recommendations which I hope the top management of our company will adopt and lastly, I have given my personal reflection towards the whole topic of robbery.

Findings and outcomes:

It was noted that in order to reduce armed robberies in our organization, we should be able to train our staff with some of the best procedures which can help us reduce them. It was noted that people who handle cash should observe the following:

Cash handling:

Large amounts of cash should not be kept in hand and that our organization should only keep minimal cash on the premises.

Conspicuous bags should always be used instead of the bank bags when carrying cash.

The staff involved should always be on the alert when carrying cash.

Cash should never be left lying around and it should never be counted in view of the public.

Cash handling procedures should never be discussed in public.

Office precautions:

For us to help reduce the risk of armed robberies in our premises, I propose that:

Staff should always be on the lookout for suspicious activities near our premises. The description of suspicious people and the registration of vehicles should be noted and the police informed immediately.

The windows and doors at the rear of our organization should always be secured with bars and deadlocks.

Electronic beepers and other security devices should be put in place to indicate when our staff are entering or leaving the business when we are open for business.

The office frontage should always be uncluttered to give a clear view of the street the service area should also be placed in the street frontage.

A silent alarm should be connected to a security Company or the police so that it can be activated from near our cash drawers or registers.

Security cameras should also be installed so that offenders can be photographed while committing the armed robbery.

Victims of robbery with violence:

If one of our staff fall a victim of an armed robbery, then it is my advice that you remain calm. In any case the armed robbery is being committed; useful information such as the description of the offenders and vehicles can help in the early arrest of the offenders. However, the following should be remembered:

Don’t be heroic by putting your life in danger. No amount of cash is worthy a life lost. Always obey the offenders’ instructions and do what they tell you to do and nothing else. Don’t volunteer to give any information.

Always avoid eye contact with offenders and their weapons and instead concentrate on the features of the offenders.

If you are not directly involved, stay out of danger by leaving the building safely and raising an alarm.

A victim should be deliberate in his/her actions. Lower denomination notes should he handed to the offenders if you are ordered to hand over money, but one’s safety should always be considered first.

If one of you or another responsible member of staff is able, the police emergency number should be phoned immediately and the line kept open.

The registration number, type and color of the vehicles used in the robbery should be carefully observed. Minor details assist the police in faster apprehension of the culprits. Physical appearance details such as age, height, build and hair color should be well noted and behavioral details like mannerisms, speech, clothing, tattoos and scars should be considered.

The type of weapon used, the method and direction of escape should also be noted.

All witnesses should be requested to stay until the police come since they will want to speak to them. Assure them that their evidence could be of importance when put together with other evidence and don’t allow witnesses to talk about the incident.

Victims of armed robbery suffer from trauma and therefore the organization should seek professional victim liaison officers to provide advice in contacting required agencies.

Preventive techniques that should be implemented to prevent armed robbery:

Armed robbery is one of the most potentially serious offenses committed all over the world. It is therefore important that organizations including ours must try by all means to prevent these robberies. To be able to do this, the following opening and closing procedures should always be observed:

Two employees should be present during the opening and closing of the premises.

When opening the premise, thorough inspection should be done to detect any signs of forcible entry before anyone enters the business.

At closing time, the security officers should ensure that nobody is hiding in the business or loitering inside the compound prior to leaving the business.

A well maintained and light interior and exterior should always be place.

Security measures which allow the workers to have a complete view of the environment such as elevated vantage points, convex mirrors and the placement of the customer service and cash area should be visible the counter or work area should be regularly cleaned to remove old fingerprints.

Make public the point that the organization uses good cash protection skills and uses very high security surveillance machines.

Employees should be trained to report and watch for suspicious people outside and inside the organization. Police should be called if the employees are worried about a potential risk.

Lunch hours and breaks should always be varied so that some employees are always visible in the organization.

Our organization should cut back and maintain trees and shrubbery which criminals could use to hide.

Employees should be informed to ask for identification from repair people, workers, guards e.t.c before they are allowed to enter into restricted areas.

Our organization should consider having an automatic silent alarm system with a panic alarm system.

Our organization should consider using doors that lock automatically upon closing in the secure areas.

Drop or delay action time lock safe that use a dual key should be used by our organization.

Use of greater criminal prosecution in Robbery cases:

We as an organization wholly believe that criminal prosecution is a very effective tool in dealing with the robbery with violence cases. We also strongly believe that by enforcing greater criminal prosecution for suspected robbery suspects, we shall be demonstrating the society’s opprobrium of a very offensive character in way that some methods cannot.

Greater criminal prosecution should be used so as to set criminalization far apart from the regulatory sanctions which if set properly can be able to deter and punish criminals rather than deterrence and penalty. However, practical and circumstantial use of greater criminal prosecution cannot always be the best for our organization and it can lead limit its effectiveness as an instrument for solving regulatory crimes because:

It always inhibits the use of more flexible and alternative sanctions.

It will brand our organization with criminality when circumstances leading to these prosecutions may not be of direct consequence of our actions.

It always takes a long time to come to the courts and the respondent concerned may at last be acquitted.

Use of greater criminal prosecution will always fail to correct the damage already caused by that offence.

It may result in the high cost in relation to the proper penalty for the offender.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

I highly recommend that the top management should be holding security meetings with all the employees and inform them that the security of our organization is paramount to everything else. We therefore recommend that all our staff should be taken through all the necessary security trainings so that they can be informed that the security of an organization does not entirely depend on the security personnel alone but on everyone.

I will recommend that the top management to allocate a certain percentage of the income in this financial year so that sophisticated security systems and cameras are purchased and installed in the organization. This will ensure that possible robbery threats in our organization are dealt with.

My personal Reflection:

I have personally heard many friends tell me about how their houses, organizations, businesses have robbed and the associated trauma they have suffered as a result of this robbery. In some instances, many victims have lived to tell the story but in some other unfortunate incidences, the victims have fallen victims of this inhuman behaviour and thereby succumbed to death. I personally tried to interview some security personnel and at most times, most of them have blankly told me that their companies are seldom well equipped to deal with the robbers. They claim the top management is very uncooperative as far as security concerns are concerned. I therefore realized that the loss of assets and human life could be tremendously reduced if all the stakeholders in an organization worked as a team and put in strong security mechanisms to deter robbery with violence.

I could therefore like to urge everyone everywhere to realize that security doesn’t involve the security personnel or the police alone but is a collective responsibility for each and every individual. We must all join hands towards the prevention of robbery.