Use the guidelines
The guidelines Røveri i dagligvarebutikker (Robberies in grocery shops) are targeted specifically at grocery shops, but they can also inspire managers and health and safety groups at other types of shop. Most of the problems and advice are the same across the retail sector.
Central or local responsibility?
If you’re not a part of a chain of shops, you can prepare your own risk assessment and your own robbery prevention and management procedures. At a chain of shops or co-op grocery shops, responsibility for robbery prevention and security will often lie with an internal security division.
If a risk assessment of the shop has been prepared centrally, you do not have to prepare an individual assessment for your shop. But of course you should be familiar with the content of the risk assessment, so that you know how to carry out your daily work as safely as possible.
How to prevent robbery
Prioritise the various preventive measures, so that you can apply your resources appropriately. Use a risk assessment to determine whether your efforts to prevent robbery are proportionate to the risk of a robbery occurring. For example, you can look at the following:
- Is there any history of robberies? Have there been robberies at neighbouring shops? Has your own shop been robbed before?
- Outside the shop: For example, are there appropriate outdoor lighting? Is there free visibility into the shop? Is there good visibility and possibilities for observation in general? Orderly and tidy surroundings around the shop signal that the shop has things under control, and this helps deter robbers from choosing your shop.
- Entrances and exits: Entrances and exits can be a factor with regard to the risk of a robbery of the cash register/check-out point. These two areas should therefore be assessed together.
- Inside the shop: Robberies of the cash register or at the check-out point are the most common forms of robbery. The robber will usually only take time to take the money in the till.
- Cash handling: There is a high risk of a robbery when you count cash and take cash in or out of the safe. If you use the services of a cash transportation company to pick up and bring you cash, then it’s the responsibility of the company to protect your cash against robbery. If you transport the cash from the shop to the bank or night safe yourselves, there are things you can and should do to minimise the risk of robbery.
Good security procedures
Good security procedures help prevent robberies (as long as they are followed). This applies both in connection with cash handling and general work at the shop.
It’s important to have security procedures that support robbery prevention. For example, it’s no use applying locks to all doors if you forget to lock them and if you let unauthorised persons in.
Here are some tips:
- Review your security procedures at least once a year.
- Do you have the necessary and appropriate security procedures in place?
- Do you have fixed procedures for introducing new employees to your security procedures?
- Always review your security procedures after a robbery.