Understanding a Robbery

As the owner of a business, it’s important to be educated about a multitude of emergency scenarios to ensure you are prepared to handle them should they occur. One such scenario is robbery. However uncommon crime may be in your area, or convince you that a robbery will not happen at your petrol station, the truth is that these scenarios are always a possibility.

The first step to dealing with a robbery at your service station is making sure that you have a working knowledge or background of information into what a robbery is, why they occur, and what the general motivation is behind most robberies. Having a good working knowledge of what motivates robberies at petrol stations is the first step in helping you to prevent them, as well as know how to act if one is to occur at your business.

Types of Robbery
When speaking of robberies, you will likely hear them referred to in two separate categories, specifically denoting which type of robbery occurred. These categories are:

  • Armed Robbery
  • Unarmed Robbery

While both forms result in theft of money or property, they are separated by the presence of a weapon. An armed robbery is a crime conducted through the use of a weapon such as a gun, knife, or syringe. In this scenario, the risk of harm to yourself of others is immediately elevated.

Unarmed robberies are perpetrated without the use of a weapon, though the robber may still use physical force to obtain their reward. In an unarmed robbery, the perpetrator may wait in line with other customers, only to hand over a note listing demands and instructions to the cashier once reaching the front.

In both cases, you should assume there is a threat of harm or danger to both workers and customers, and follow procedure accordingly. Even if you cannot see a weapon, there may be a chance it is hidden on the robber’s person.

Why do robberies happen?
Robberies are most often committed by individuals with an urgent need for a reward. Those looking to commit a crime will assess businesses like petrol stations for potential risk vs reward to determine whether there is an opportunity to commit robbery.

When assessing a business, robbers may weigh two specific factors to determine whether or not they should follow through on the crime. These factors include:

  • Probability of being caught
  • Value and availability of reward

If an offender’s assessment of your service station leaves them with the impression that risk is low, and reward is high, your business is at higher risk for crimes such as robbery.

Understanding Offender’s Mindset
It is important to understand that most offenders are generally unconcerned about the impact of their crime. This attitude extends to both employees and present customers. Robbers may use intimidation and aggression to create fear, reduce resistance, and promote compliance.

In order to minimize the risk of harm to yourself and others, understanding why robberies happen is important. If you know robbers are motivated by reward and unconcerned with being caught, you are more likely to be compliant. Submission and compliance in the event of a robbery can help prevent potential harm.

Learn More With ServoSkills
For more information on understanding a robbery, as well in depth training material to help you and your employees feel secure and prepared in the unlikely event you are robbed, ServoPro has you covered.

Our ServoSkills course material walks you through each aspect of what to do in the event of a robbery, and is available for viewing by any of our members. To stay informed, access the full Armed Robbery series of training material in our ServoSkills Training Course.

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