GEORGE NEWS - Spaza shops have become increasingly popular targets in business robberies.
The police believe the main reason spaza shops are targeted, is because there is always money in the tills.
These shops, which are mostly owned by foreign nationals, are almost permanently stocked with airtime and cigarettes as customers always have a need for these products, and these are therefore the main items demanded during a robbery.
In most incidents, robbers also get away with undisclosed amounts of money.
Here are 10 useful tips for local spaza shop owners to prevent robberies:
- Do not keep large amounts of money in the tills
- Do not close the shop the same time every evening
- Close the shop earlier on quiet days and days scheduled for load shedding
- Install CCTV cameras in the shop and set it to record 24 hours
- Install silent alarms and panic buttons
- Make sure alarms are in a working condition and activated when shops are closed
- Install security gates and keep them locked if the shop is still open after dark
- Do not resist armed robbers; rather give them what they want
- Report business robberies to the police as soon as possible
- Try to remember the perpetrator/s face/s or anything about them that might stand out so you can give an adequate description to the police.
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