A commercial robbery happens every four minutes, adding up to more than 100,000 robberies every year.
That's according to ADT Security Services, which provides security systems for both homes and businesses.
Park Cafe and Coffee Bar in Bolton Hill has experienced its share of robberies in the last four months-- the business has been robbed five times since October. This week, its owners said it would no longer accept cash as a form of payment.
RELATED: Park Cafe and Coffee Bar robbed 5 times in 4 months, its owners say
They include:
- Place security signs and stickers on entrances to serve as deterrents to robbery.
- Be sure you have adequate lighting both inside and outside your business.
- Exterior lighting should illuminate dark areas around your building and parking lots.
- Interior lighting should be adequate enough to allow people outside your business to see people inside.
- Install silent alarms to notify police and give them a better chance to catch perpetrators.
- Install some form of cash register protection.
- Install security cameras, which not only serve as a robbery prevention tactic, but help with identifying a robber after the robbery has been committed.
- Use a safe with a drop mechanism that allows you to make periodic drops during the day to minimize the amount of cash in your registers.
- Always drop large bills immediately and publicize this to discourage potential robbers.
Baltimore County Police also urge businesses to use better lighting and locks, but pointed out another important deterrent-- witnesses who notice something out of the ordinary.
That could be a car or truck parked in the back of the store or office that shouldn't be there late at night, or a light on when it should be dark inside.
"Your quick action might mean the end to a series of burglaries that are occurring in your area," police said.
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