Petrol stations’ measures in outsmarting thieves
Thanks to an innovative program of preventive security measures intended to protect staff and property across Australia, Caltex-operated convenience stores co-located with petrol stations are experiencing a marked decline in robberies and drive offs. Initiatives like new night operations policies, safety pendants, anti-jump wires, night windows, bollards in front of ATMs, security door procedures, and “smart safes” for handling cash are together effectively reducing the incidence of hold-ups.
The bollards installed along the shopfronts are a good example of how well the policy is working. Their aim was to deter smash-and-grab thieves who drive into shop fronts, seize ATMs full of cash and drive away with them in their vehicles. Since the bollards were introduced there hasn’t been one successful smash-and-grab incident at any of the Caltex operated businesses using them. Feedback from employees is that they are understandably happy about the changes.
Here is the background on some of the measures that are being taken, and may be useful in other types of shops:
Bollards: Sturdy pillars along the shop-front and in front of ATMs prevent smash and grab bandits from seizing machines and driving off.
Night drawers: At night, after prescribed times, customers use the wall-mounted devices to pay for fuel and goods without coming into the stores.
New operations timetables: These show employees times at which store doors should be manually opened, then on full lock, after which they should not venture outside until relieved the next morning.
“Intellivend” machines: Introduced last year, these are safe-like devices between consoles into which customer service attendants place takings, and which are opened only by Armaguard security. They “read” notes and print out a report each day of how much money they contain. (A $200 cash limit for tills also means less risk for staff.)
Safety pendants: Employees wear these around their necks for added peace of mind. The pendants have two buttons, one for opening and unlocking the front door when a staffer sees a customer approaching, another to send an emergency signal to the security company if there’s an incident.
Shields: The newest measure currently being trialed in several stores is a counter shield for console areas. The movable polycarbonate screen is left open during normal business hours. After 8pm it’s lowered three-quarters of the way down. After midnight it’s lowered fully, and staff serve customers through a chute.
As employers Caltex want to ensure a safe working environment for their employees, and these extra security measures go a long way to achieve that.
Reference: Caltex Star, August/September 2008.
