Warning issued over recent robberies at Cheshire vets

We have been asked by Warrington's Business Crime Reduction Unit to alert veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to a spate of recent robberies at veterinary practices in the Cheshire area.

Three separate veterinary surgeries are reported to have been affected, in Warrington, Altrincham and Lymm, and police are concerned that veterinary practices may be being targeted.

Of the three incidents, which police believe were largely cash-motivated, two occurred very close to closing time, when, typically, there is only one member of staff on duty and no clients present. The offender at Lymm was armed with a baseball bat, however, no one was injured.

Whilst there is nothing to suggest that this is a national problem, the Unit has said this does not mean there [is no risk of] similar incidents elsewhere.

David Barlow, Business Crime Reduction Officer in Warrington, has provided some general advice for business premises, some of which is applicable to veterinary practices.

"We also run a crime prevention scheme, Warrington Against Business Crime, that we encourage businesses to sign up to. This allows us to supply them with police intelligence on known offenders, in addition to a range of other means of support, to help them keep their businesses and employees as safe as possible," he says.

Practices in the Warrington area can contact David for further advice or support on 07825 228157 or [email protected].

Warrington Business Crime Reduction - General Advice

Your Reception area should be your first line of defence against any potential intruders during normal working hours. It should be considered as one of the most important parts of company security, and it should always be the first point of contact when anyone enters the building.

Rule One
Reception area, under no circumstances, to be left unattended. Neither should you have only one member of staff in attendance near closing time. To do so leaves you VERY vulnerable.

Rule Two
Know who is, or who has been on site. Every visitor entering should be signed in and out. ( Issue them with identification against a signature. There are numerous good quality visitor pass products on the market. These range from simple paper-based systems to more advanced computer-produced versions which may even include the photograph of the visitor).

Rule Three
Educate your staff to challenge any stranger on site. If it is a legitimate visitor they should be wearing a visitor’s pass which will cut down on the number of enquires that staff have to make. Install security locks so that customers cannot just walk into reception (this may be something that you would enforce at less busy times of the day).

Rule Four
All visitors should always be met, and escorted back to, the reception by an authorised member of staff i.e. not permitted to "find their own way up". They must not be permitted to wander around the building alone.

Rule Five
It is common practice for potential thieves to 'case the joint' by visiting the Reception area and often gain access into the building by tailgating legitimate visitors. It is paramount that Reception staff are trained in security, thus enabling them to recognise suspicious behaviour and are made aware of techniques used.

Rule Six
If reception staff are used to control access from a public reception area into more secure parts of the building, some sort of risk analysis should be carried out to ensure that they are not put in a position whereby they may be threatened or placed under duress to allow unauthorised entry. The Reception area should always be equipped with a personal attack or panic button. It is vital that this is linked to a permanently staffed area close by so that immediate assistance can be given. Also bearing in mind the first point, your Reception should not be left unattended.

Rule Seven
Keep cash in the register to a minimum to reduce potential losses. Use a drop safe into which high value notes and excess cash are dropped by
employees and cannot be retrieved by them. Post signs informing would-be robbers that there are never large amounts of cash on the premises.

Rule Eight
One of the methods of gaining access is for intruders to enter the building and secrete themselves until it is closed and empty, or wait nearby until they are sure that there is only one person, usually female, alone during lock up. You should carefully search the premises before locking up.

If you are in a situation that could turn violent:

• try to stay calm;
• be aware of your own body language and the other person’s;
• try to keep a safe distance and avoid physical contact if possible;
• if you cannot calm the situation down, call for help or look for opportunities to move away, if you have CCTV, try to manoeuvre them so that the camera catches an image of their face, but don't take any risks; and
• report all incidents to your employer and, of course, the police.