A Difficult Target

By Steve Krupnik | January, 08, 2010

I'm sure you're probably aware that as a consultant to pawnbrokers I keep a sharp eye on the pawnbroking industry to spot trends and troubles that I can pass on to my clients to benefit them. This afternoon in my office I've been reviewing news from the industry over the past several months and one trend sticks out like a sore thumb. Crimes against pawnbrokers.

It's been a very rough summer for our industry.

The increase in crime has not been in one specific area - it's pretty much across the board. Everything from petty larceny, bait and switch artists, grab it and run, and phony greenbacks, to the much more serious stuff. Armed robberies, hostage situations, massive burglaries, and yes - even cold-blooded murder. This has been especially the case in the US.

I'm sure there are multiple reasons for this sharp increase in crimes against pawnbrokers, but the reasons for the increase are not important to you - the safety of you and your people are. Of course, you cannot protect yourself against every situation. Such as - the bad guy who stole a semi-tractor last month and drove it through the side of a pawn shop in the middle of the night just to grab a few pieces of jewelry.

But there are many steps you can take and many procedures you can go over to make sure your business is not an easy mark for these crimes. When reviewing your security and your policies keep one thing in mind. Thieves are basically lazy. If you appear to be easy to hit - it's likely you eventually will get hit. But if you at least give the appearance of being a difficult target - many of the crooks will pass you right by to try to find an easier job.

When reviewing your nighttime security do not overlook the obvious. Sure you have an alarm system but how good is it really? If you do not have a stealth battery backup and two-way monitoring either by radio or by Internet connection, it's not nearly as good a system as you think it is. Many pawnbrokers have come into work in the morning to discover a missing electric meter, cut telephone lines, and an empty pawnshop. Again - an easy mark.

How about your vault? Your safe is only as secure as the amount of time and amount of knowledge the bad guy has. I mention this to you because I've been in many pawn shops where I could've gotten into their safe with a sledgehammer and a fire axe quicker than the pawn shop owner could have gotten into it with a combination. No excuses - they're not that expensive.

Do you put away and lock up as much valuable merchandise as possible every evening? If you don't, you may want to consider reviewing this policy. This is an open invitation for the bad guy. Do you have one person who opens or closes the business? Again, this is an open invitation for trouble. One person opening or closing will always invite unwanted guests.

And how about your daytime security? When was the last time you tested your panic buttons? My guess is - way too long ago. When was the last time you checked to see if your CCTV recorder was actually recording? Probably the last time you wanted to review something. Have you ever gone over security and safety measures with the employees? Do you have written policies on this? Keywords - required procedures - ANYTHING???

Please - take the time to review and implement a few of these things. It's bad out there and it's getting worse. Make yourself a difficult target. In doing so you may be saving your business. You also may be saving your life. I have put many of my experiences on safety and security in the Pawn Shop Advisor(tm) http://www.pawnshopadvisor.com/main.cfm coaching program. I knew they were important - and it appears they're getting more important every day. Be smart - be aware - and be safe.

Keep your eye on the target and your mind on the goal,
Stephen Krupnik

P.S. I'm nearly out of the bonuses I'm offering currently with the Pawn Shop Advisor(tm) coaching program http://www.pawnshopadvisor.com/main.cfm but if you choose to become a client of mine, do so now to get in on these specials.

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