Small business owners want to protect their property and earnings from theft. The previous column discussed ways of preventing loss from robbery. This week’s column addresses armed robbery. If your business isolated in a high crime area, some experts urge you to consider using protective glass to enclose the cashier and register. The enclosure should be high enough to prevent someone from vaulting over the top, and the opening for transfer of cash should be too small to permit insert of a weapon that might be used to threaten the cashier.

In the event of an armed robbery, police advise victims to cooperate with thieves rather than resist them. During a holdup, the business owner should be concerned with personal and employee safety and gathering information that might be helpful to the police. You and your employees should obtain training on how to notice distinguishing traits about the thief. Try to observe characteristics like sex, age, height, weight, race and color of skin and eyes. In addition, remember identifying characteristics such as scars, tattoos, limps and speech. Law officers suggest two easy ways to estimate height: compare the robber with a familiar structure in the store or mark the door frame with various heights.

Accurate descriptions of the weapon can also be a big help. Try to notice whether the criminal touches anything: counter edges, door handles, cash register keys, etc. Don’t touch those areas until the police arrive. Tell police what the robber might have touched. Your best course of action during a robbery is to comply with the robber and pay attention to every detail, so you can be a strong witness for the police. Let the police pursue the robber. Try to note how the robber escapes. If on foot in what direction? If in a vehicle, try to get the license number. Call the police immediately after the robbery to file a report.

Your testimony may be the only evidence in a robbery case, unless identifiable money from the crime is found in possession of the suspect. Some police departments recommend that retailers maintain a stack of "bait money" for just this purpose. Keep such money within easy reach of the register; never give this money out as change to your customers. The serial number and series year of each bill are recorded and stored in a safe place, so you can relay the information to the police.

If you would like to discuss crime prevention or security measures, contact the SCORE® Association (Service Corps of Retired Executives). More than 12,000 volunteer, business counselors donate their time and expertise to assist entrepreneurs. SCORE® is a nonprofit organization that provides free and confidential business counseling as a community service. For a referral to the SCORE® chapter nearest you, call 1 (800) 634-0245.