A gunman shot by an officer outside a Wawa in Reading. A clerk tied up and held at gunpoint at a Turkey Hill in Ephrata. A catalytic converter filched off a Sheetz maintenance van in Shoemakersville. Crimes at local convenience stores are on the rise. In 2019, 6.6% of all robberies occurred in convenience stores. In 2020, this rose to 10%, and FBI crime statistics from the same year show that convenience stores are the fourth most common locations for violent crime.
Why do people commit these heinous acts at convenience stores? After all, shoplifting a bag of Doritos seems insignificant compared to holding a clerk by their shirt collar and demanding they open the safe. To answer this question, we must first ask why people commit these crimes in general.
“Some are more impulsive than others,” says criminal justice professor Rosemary McFee. She explains that people who do this for drugs or quick cash may not plan things out, however, plenty of other people will plan out every little detail of a robbery.
The ‘routine activities theory’ states that crimes require three main components. First is a motivated offender – who is committing the crime and why? Second is a suitable target, analyzing how easy it is to commit the crime. And third is the lack of capable guardians, which involves paying attention to exits, an escape plan, and how often the police visit. If everything aligns, it could be ‘money in the bank’.
But what about people who just want to “stick it to the man” and wreak havoc? On the evening of September 24, 2022, a Wawa in the Mayfair neighborhood of Philadelphia was ransacked by several juveniles, some as young as ten years old. The perpetrators threw food at each other, destroyed displays, danced on counters, and fought each other in the parking lot. No one was injured, but the store suffered thousands of dollars in damage.
With this situation, one may ask why the police did not do much other than breaking up the fighting. Professor McFee suggests that there are several reasons. For one, the police have some discretion when it comes to juveniles. There could be more to the story that they cannot tell the media. Also, often there is input from the owner of the location. What do they want done?
Convenience stores are a very easy, attractive target for criminals. These locations tend to be open 24 hours a day, and often during the night fewer employees are on the clock. Combine that with sometimes poor exterior lighting and a centralized location, and you have a burglar bullseye.
Additionally, these stores tend to have bills and coins on hand. Many people will choose to pay for small transactions in cash as opposed to a card. Granted, most of this money would be protected by a time-locked safe, but cash in the registers is vulnerable to an armed robber.
Incidents of this nature can have devastating effects on the victims, bystanders, and the entire community. Injuries or deaths can frequently occur, especially if an employee chooses to engage. According to the FBI, strong-arm tactics were used in 44.8% of robberies in 2019, and firearms were used in 36.4% of robberies.
Survivors and witnesses may be traumatized by the sights and sounds of a catastrophe like this. “I don’t think anybody’s ever ready to see blood,” says McFee. Additionally, the store could lose hundreds or even thousands of dollars in damages or theft. In order to recoup the lost funds, product prices may rise.
For those who work in a convenience store, proper training is important as well as having security measures in place. The best way to protect yourself against an armed robber is to just give them the money; human lives will always be more valuable.
Remember, thieves always think they can get away with it. “I won’t be the one to get caught!” However, you can absolutely keep your store safe from crime.
Sources:
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/officer-shoots-armed-man-in-wawa-parking-lot/3363098/
https://local21news.com/news/local/clerk-tied-up-by-robber-with-gun-at-turkey-hill-in-ephrata
https://www.cspdailynews.com/company-news/c-stores-are-4th-most-common-location-violent-crime
https://popcenter.asu.edu/content/robbery-convenience-stores-0
https://nypost.com/2022/09/25/rampaging-youths-ransack-philadelphia-wawa-twerk-on-counter/
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/robbery
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