Procedures After the Robbery

  • If these steps are followed after a robbery, the employee will be able to give information to assist police officers in arresting the culprit, and more importantly, in protecting the employee and innocent customers from harm.
  • Give employees jobs to be done if there is a robbery. Decide now which employee will lock doors, who will call the police, who will care for the injured, who will look for the getaway car, who will protect evidence, etc. Do not assume the jobs will be done with no plan.
  • Do not chase the robber. The robber may shoot at any pursuers or the police may shoot at you, too, thinking you are the robber.
  • Secure the doors so the robbers cannot re-enter the store. Stop business operations and place a sign on the door advising customers that the business is "Temporarily closed due to an emergency." Do not let anyone in except emergency personnel.
  • Call police immediately. Be sure to tell them if anyone is injured so they can dispatch emergency medical personnel. Give police the time of the robber’s departure, their description and direction and method of travel. Stay on the phone until they tell you it’s okay to hang up. The speed of reporting is critical to the apprehension of the criminal.
  • Care for injured people. If possible render first aid, and keep the victim calm and alert until paramedics arrive.
  • Observe method of escape of the robber, if possible, along with the direction of travel. If a vehicle is used, try to find out the make, color, type, license number and the state of registration.
  • Preserve any evidence. Protect the crime scene and do not touch anything the robber may have touched. Keep people out of the area.
  • Write down the robber’s description. Do not "compare notes" with others until a police officer arrives and conducts interviews.
  • Keep witnesses at the scene until police arrive. If they insist on leaving, try to get their names and addresses.
  • Make other contacts of people who need to be notified like the store owner, bank security, etc. Emergency telephone numbers should be accessible and the notification policy clearly established.
  • Do not discuss the robbery with outsiders until police give permission to do so. Refer all questions to the police.
  • Keep the amount of money stolen private. The police can list the amount taken as an "undetermined amount of cash" until the exact amount is determined in an audit. Find out and record anything else that may have been stolen. If an exact amount of cash taken during the robbery should be released to the media, and they report a large loss, other robbers could be attracted to the business or others in the chain.
  • Assist investigating officers in every way possible. Cooperate with the police by being available for interviews, not being reluctant to identify suspects and giving evidence in court when notified to do so.
We will alert you if there are emergencies within our surrounding community...