Paper Example on Convenience Stores: Crime & Police Relationships

Introduction

Convenience stores are known targets for several crimes such as robbery, burglary, and shoplifting. These convenience store crimes have become prevalent in the United States to the extent of local police departments creating task forces to deal with the vice (D'Alessio & StolzenBerg, 2017). The probability of a convenience store being robbed, burgled, or shoplifted is high, which calls for a friendly relationship with the local police due to their vulnerability (Nassauer, 2018). These crimes have, at some instances, left stores in a tight financial situation, and some end up closing down.

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The increased crime rate in convenience stores can be attributed to several reasons that make these spaces vulnerable and easy crime targets. Convenience stores are usually characterized by a small number of employees working per store. Most stores have at most three employees in a single shift, which makes it difficult for these workers to deter or stop criminals in case of a robbery or other crimes (Askey, Taylor, Groff & Fingerhut, 2018). Secondly, convenience stores operate for extended hours, which makes it simple for criminals since few customers or potential witnesses are available. These stores operate for 24 hours a day, and they present a perfect opportunity for criminals to strike during odd night hours when customers or witnesses are few. Most stores are established in a small space, and this makes it easy for criminals to cover their floor plan, accessing cash registers without much effort (Askey, Taylor, Groff & Fingerhut, 2018). The majority of convenience stores accept cash instead of electronic transactions to make purchases. Cash payments lead to large amounts of money piling up in the store with little or no security, making it an easy pick for robbers.

Convenience store crimes are attributed to the easily resold products they deal with, such as cigarettes, ready foods like meat, and liquor. On average, every convenience store in the country spends over $4, 000 on security; to employ security guards, installing cash storage units and CCTV installation (Askey, Taylor, Groff & Fingerhut, 2018).

Known Crime Problems

For all 7-eleven stores in the United States, crime has become a common problem regardless of where the store is located. Every &-eleven store has at one time since their establishment been robbed, burgled, or maybe shoplifted. Other criminal issues witnessed in theses convenience stores are job safety-related. The known criminal issues associated with convenience stores, especially 7-eleven stores, including but not limited to robbery, shoplifting, burglary, and other employee-related issues. Convenience store crimes account for over 5% of all criminal cases reported to the local authorities. Although this percentage may look small, the issue is persistent. Stores in certain locations are victims of repeat victimization either by the same offender or a different one. A successful robbery may propel a robber to rob the store again, which leads to repeating victimization (Weisel, 2016). Stores with huge amounts of cash, inadequate security, and few employees are highly exposed to all sorts of store crimes.

Shoplifting might not be as pronounced as robberies, but they are also a challenge to convenience stores. Juveniles account for over 90 % of all shoplifting crimes since convenience stores attract minor groups, especially after school or during the weekends. Statistics suggest that 54% of all shoplifting often happens in convenience stores (Askey, Taylor, Groff & Fingerhut, 2018). The 7-eleven store along Independence Ave SE, in Washington, is not an exemption to this kind of crime. The store has, over the years, been robbed, shoplifted, burgled, or workers treated in an unprofessional way by customers. Burglars, robbers, and shoplifters target this store in Washington because the store is well established in the area, and large amounts of cash are available at any moment. The security detail in the store is not very enhanced, which gives offenders an easy pick.

Potential Crime Risks

The 7-eleven store located along Independence Ave SE in Washington faces several potential security risks. These potential crime risks include:

Employee Embezzlement

Cash embezzlement by employees is the major cause of inventory and cash losses in any convenience store. This risk has become so pervasive since it is always difficult to detect when cash or other inventories are missing. Colleagues of a looting employee might not report these cases to the management until an official investigation is done. Some workers feel it's not their job to report looting colleagues and some fear that their co-workers will know who reported them.

Merchandise Theft

Shoplifting and burglary are the second primary sources of inventory loss in any store. Store workers usually do not greet or make eye contact with customers or potential offenders as they enter the store. Potential shoplifters feel as if they are not noticed by the worker on duty, which increases their chance to steal.

Robbery Incidents

Convenience stores remain a prime target for robberies and other forms of organized crime due to the volume of cash transactions they make in a single day. Store employees sometimes ignore putting cash in storage units, which makes it less challenging for robbers to get it from the cash registers. Offenders will keep on coming if they suspect a certain store has a considerable amount of cash.

Crime Prevention Measures for 7-Eleven Store in Washington

The 7-Eleven store located along Independence Ave SE in Washington has witnessed a number of crime problems such as robbery, shoplifting, and burglary, to name a few. The store must adopt new security approaches to reduce these crimes, and some recommendations are discussed below.

Recommendation 1- The Clear Zone Concept

Store management or owners often find themselves sticking promotional materials on the windows forgetting that they are helping potential offenders commit their business without being noticed or seen. These materials collect on windows over time, obstructing the store view from both outside and inside, which, as a result, provides robbers and shoplifters the perfect cover and stay hidden.

The clear zone approach works by first identifying a window that overlooks cash handling areas like cash registers. The window should always be directly in front or closest to the sales counter and cash registers with zero clutter or signage. This space is chosen since almost all robberies and store crimes happen around the sales counter where all transactions take place. The selected window is then highlighted using local police colors and a "robbery prevention program printed at the bottom. This simple signage brings a feeling of police presence and works as a visual crime deterrent (Gilbert, 2018). The deterrence theory, which mostly focuses on the consequences of a crime, can be used to explain the clear zone program. Criminals view being caught by the local police as an enormous consequence, which decreases their probability of offending. Some lesser repercussions that may arise when conducting a robbery include being harmed by the store attendants, which is not a significant concern to robbers. Being seen by a random citizen in the streets is a considerable risk since they can always call the police (Gilbert, 2018).

In case a robbery occurs, a clear sight increases the probability of passersby to witness what is going on inside the store and might call the police. Criminals never like being caught or seen, and they prefer walking in and out of a store quickly without being noticed. They also prefer conducting their activities in closed spaces like behind clattered windows, where the chances of being seen or caught are low (Gilbert, 2018). Maintaining a clear sight in the store by avoiding too much window signage and placing cash registers in a clear outside view can help store management reduce cases of robbery or shoplifting.

Recommendation 2- Installing Barcode and Barcode Scanners

A barcode is a system that gives every product in a store a unique code or number, which is then printed on the merchandise so that a device (barcode scanner) can read it. Codes are used instead of numbers to avoid confusion in instances like scanning the wrong number since some digit resemble others (Todeschini, 2016). A good example is scanning a six, which is an inverted number nine. When running a busy store, it's always crucial to keep track of everything you sell to ensure that the merchandise your clients need is always in stock. The simplest way of keeping track of inventory is walking around the store, identifying empty spaces, and refilling them when necessary. Alternatively, compiling a list of everything purchased in the checkout and using the list to reorder the stock is another way of keeping track of inventory in a small and less busy store.

A barcode system comprises of individual parts. First, a central computer is purchased, which will be used to store and run a database that keeps track of all products in the store, their prices, manufacturer, and stock size. Barcodes are then printed on all products, with each item having a unique code to itself. Checkout scanners are later installed, which read the barcodes from every item (Todeschini, 2016). To effectively counter shoplifting, radio frequency (RF) devices are installed at the exit of every store. This device is usually designed to detect every product that has not been paid for since barcode scanners read and mark every item before a customer pays. The RF device notices a code that has not been read and transmits a signal to the alarm.

Adopting barcode technology in stores can help reduce cases of theft and shoplifting. The system allows managers to keep a joint record on computer software that tracks products, stock levels, and prices. It also provides store workers to notice when the stocks of specific products are running low. The accuracy in the barcode system is high, and store attendants can quickly see when something is missing or stolen (Todeschini, 2016). Every missing item and does not appear in the list of sold goods is automatically pronounced stolen, and the product in question is moved to a more secure shelf or area.

Recommendation 3- Adopting Effective Operating Procedures

Store operating procedures or policies focus on days of operation, store hours, staffing policies, cash handling, and employee training procedures. The store should adopt a two-clerk policy, particularly during weekends, night shifts, or during early morning hours. These periods are the riskiest to robberies, and having at least two clerks in the store can scare away potential offenders.

Cash handling procedures should also be improved since the availability of large amounts of cash is the primary cause of robberies in stores (Shirin, 2015). The management should always ensure that money available on site is regulated by making frequent deposits to the bank. Drop safes should also be installed to prevent employees from handing over money during a robbery since employees cannot open the safe. These safes also deter employee embezzlement as they cannot access the money they dropped in the safe. Drop safes use the assumption that if either the robber or the employee can't access the store cash, then the possibility of robbery is decreased. Using several cash storage locations and multivariate models is often associated with reduced victimization of stores (Shirin, 2015). The store management should also train employees on what to do before, during, and after robberies to minimize loses.

Conclusion

Convenience stores are marred with common crimes such as shoplifting, burglary, and robberies. The availability of huge amounts o...