The most common news story involving street-level armed robbers is usually in either a gas station convenience store or liquor store. Both are high-traffic environments that can guarantee usually at least a couple hundred in cash and some hand-carry items such as cartons of cigarettes and booze. For street-level offenders with little active experience, these are prime targets. The risk is high but it’s generally more lucrative than hitting an individual on a street corner. For employees in these job fields, being armed with a concealed handgun can mean the difference between life and death.
Let’s preface this: street-level offenders have a variety of experience and predisposition to violence. Some are just pushed to rob a liquor store out of a reluctant, idiot notion that they can prove their worth and move up to better enterprises. Others are scared, anxious people who have little experience or understanding in the use of firearms and may exercise a much greater degree of initiative in becoming violent.
The two basic strategies seen are usually as follows:
Brute force OR basic strategy
In a brute force scenario, the armed robber will point the gun at the clerk and quickly move behind the counter to limit that clerk’s ability to retreat, seek cover, or avoid the situation. Once there, he may exercise violence to any degree he sees necessary to secure goods and cash. Once that’s finished, the criminal or criminals may simply leave or decide to push the situation further with the hopes of gaining access to a safe or other contained valuables section of the store. This is time intensive and arguably idiotic considering the estimated payout versus risk. However, you’re not dealing with street-level Einsteins. You’re dealing with a lot of thugs. These may be juveniles or fully grown adults. In either case, the clerk is almost always incentivized to seek cover. If he’s armed, he has little choice but to engage the suspects because his life is in direct jeopardy at every step in this process.
With criminals who are able to use even the most basic of strategy, they will seek to strike in a group of two to three. One will sit in the car and keep it idling while two go in. The two will attempt to gain angles of cover on the clerk or clerks. One will break off and get the valuables while the other maintains basic field of fire over the employees. Depending upon the skill level, natural tendency to violence, and other factors, this scenario could play out with no loss of life.
Most criminals don’t go this route because they’re greedy and stupid. The take from a liquor store or gas station convenience store is always small. Splitting it three ways between two armed robbers and a driver means nobody gets a decent pay-out. Additionally, if one of the robbers or the driver go down due to either an armed citizen, wandering off-duty police officer, or the clerk himself, the remaining members of the group may get charged with their buddy’s murder. This bumps a charge from armed robbery to murder.
So, from this, and from the number of news reports we generally see, we can quickly draw the conclusion that armed robbers usually opt for brute force over strategy. Even in a brute force scenario, the armed robber usually has a getaway driver. The getaway driver’s job, when a concealed carrier, armed clerk, or off-duty officer intercedes, is usually to drop off the robber at a nearby hospital if he’s shot and then quickly get out of the area. Lower coverage and visibility for the driver, fewer chances of being charged with murder if the robber goes down.
This is why if you work in a profession in a high-traffic environment, you need to be armed. The guys going into these escapades have little to gain and everything to lose. That’s a recipe for disaster. Doing nothing can still result in the loss of life. Failing to accommodate properly the violent nature of your aggressor can result in the loss of life. There are so many possibilities in these situations that the most foolish thing a clerk can do is assume compliance equates to survival.
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While I agree that these are highly sought places to perform criminal acts of theft; I have known there to be employees at these types of places, that are not always in the frame of mind to be in charge of a firearm. Check your employees well, if you’re going to allow them to pack and defend your business. This could turn into a can of rabid worms. Make sure if you have the right legal documents and insurance for your business.
A business could require training and a CCW if it’s a CC state. I would.
A business should require training and their insurance company should require it, if they are allowing people to carry to protect the business. Technically, they are probably able to be open carrying depending on the state they are in; either way, an in-depth background check should be done. So too should a blood screen for alcohol and or other chemical abuse/use.
All well and good, but we’ll hear from the delusion contingent of the pro second amendment crowd. Companies already can demand drug tests and even demand employees don’t smoke and test for that. Further, if you drive for a company, you must be licensed and I bet you’ll be drug tested as well. There’s a difference between the government and private business as working for someone is voluntary. Don’t like the conditions, work elsewhere. The problems is, some don’t understand the liabilities and risk involved to the business owner. People don’t have a right to subject a business owner to said risks and liabilities without taking steps to limit them. Some go as far to make the workplace a weapons free zone, as where I work. We even had to go for active shooter training, which tells you they know weapons free doesn’t work, but it limits their liability and risk, legally. Now, if our state legislature would just get the bill off the table allowing carry where I work, that would be nice, but I won’t hold my breath and I work in a CC state.
My employer does not allow cc at work in the state I live in, but they do in some; depends on state law requirements apparently. The worst are those companies that won’t even allow you to keep it in your car locked up.
We can keep it locked up, but that’s it. Thing is, they charge us for parking. Over $700 a year and I have to walk 3/8 of a mile to my office.
Does that include issuing a CCW Badge?
That’s out of pocket.
remember , the average shooting is 6 feet. you do not need 14 rounds. 357 snub nose is the best gun for protection. powerful and don’t worry about the aim. DIRECTION is everything. middle body 2 shots and back up. then shoot again if you need to. be calm , pull out , and fire.
Don’t you mean they have little to lose and everything to gain?
Another thing for the gas station and convenience store or liquor store, Is that 95% do not have access to the safe other than putting cash into a slot for drops, They will not have a way to open it (worked at a station before) so pressing the employee to open it is a fail.