Over the last year crime statistics in South Africa indicated a significant increase in robbery against businesses and retail stores with over 51 armed robberies a day being perpetrated across the country. Cash is still the primary target for over 95% of armed robberies.

The more deterrents you have in place, the lower the chances of your store being identified as a target for bandits and being attacked. It follows that retailers and business owners should take a responsible stance by ensuring that the security at the store effectively protects the business, staff and customers from a burglary or an armed robbery.

As your safety remains important to us and in terms of clause 9.2.9 of our cash management agreement, we provide the following valuable guidelines:

• Ensure that you have a functional alarm system that is linked to an armed response provider.  
• Make special note that your alarm system includes a motion/intrusion detection in the roof and in the area where the alarm board and transmitter are housed.
• Regularly test your alarm system (at least once a month) with your security company to ensure that your alarm system is functioning correctly.
• Ensure that your panic button is linked to your armed response provider and ensure that your panic button is in possession of the relevant staff and/or is placed in an area accessible by your personnel. It is important that you regularly test your panic button (at least once a month)
• We recommend that you have a functional CCTV system in place as this can provide a strong deterrent for both internal and external crime.

Check the inside and outside of the premises if your alarm has been triggered. Very often, when the alarm is triggered, the bandits hide in the roof or inside the store. The bandits are aware that there is a good chance that the armed response guards only perform a superficial check of the outside of the building. If the armed response guards do not see signs of a break-in, they may assume that your premises are safe. Meanwhile once the guards leave, the bandits are able to easily access the cash office and have ample time to complete their attack on your safes.

It is advisable that you instruct your armed response company to notify you or your manager whenever your alarm is triggered. This would create the opportunity for you or your manager to meet the armed response guards on site and check the inside of the premises for possible intruders.

No white Cash-in-Transit (CIT) tags are allowed on your premises.

Retaining the white tag constitutes a breach of your agreement and by so doing you run the real risk of your staff being taken hostage by armed criminals.

In addition, to help with minimising the risk to your staff and customers and to the cash held at any time in your Cash Connect vault, we have summarised the CIT Key Handling Procedure below. Please communicate this to all of your staff who use the vault. To view the summary, click here

With the current state of crime in our country, we urge you to maintain effective security systems and procedures that do not undermine our ability to take the risk as defined by our agreement. If you have any doubts please engage with us. If we do not hear from you we will assume that all is in order.

Feel free to contact your Cash Connect Client Relations Executive (CRE) or email us at risk@cashconnect.co.za