BUSINESS AS USUAL – NOT THIS YEAR EXCLUSIVE TO THE SEQUIM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
BY ROBERT SPINKS, CHIEF OF POLICE JUNE 2007
Summer is in full swing and so are the accompanying increase in visitors to our community, slower traffic and hordes of kids out from under the daily grind of school. Those hazy days of summer can sometimes get a small business owner thinking more about sales, profits and foot traffic and less about fraud, burglary and suspicious activities that are happening around their building during the day or night. With the rapid growth our Sequim and its ever evolving status as a regional retail trade center, it is no surprise that the Sequim Police Department has seen double digit increases in calls for police service in recent years. In 2006, 13,057 total incidents were handled by the local police – roughly one incident every 40 minutes, 24 hours of every day. The good news is that more arrests were made in Sequim than ever before, on average between 3 or 4 arrests are made every day in the City of Sequim. With a new Detective Unit that opened for business in March of this year, the police are clearing up more cases with successful arrests than ever before too – at a rate that is double the national average. As a small business person it should concern you that fraud continues to be the number one threat faced by our commercial sector. Crime, burglary, robbery, vandalism, shoplifting, employee theft, and fraud cost businesses billions of dollars each year. Crime can be particularly devastating to small businesses. Small businesses can join together in such efforts as Business Watch to alert each other to crime patterns and suspicious activities. A common challenge faced by many of our local businesses are ‘quality of life’ nuisances that range from loitering kids, the hap-hazard skateboarder, to trespassers and the associated list of intoxicated individuals, parking problems, noise, and well the list grows. None of these instances by themselves seems like a pressing law enforcement problem, but taken together and with the right volume they can threaten any healthy commercial district. There is no instant cost-free fixes to ensure the health of any business district. However, through a combination of Business Watch efforts, alerts to businesses by fax and email of current criminal activity, and the use of a new Trespass Agreement Program with local police, there is the potential to develop a wall against crime. The development of a downtown patrol officer program is also possible using a combination of partnership opportunities that might be brought to bear upon finding sustainable funding for this service and it is a program that the police department is exploring for the future. Laying a Foundation for Prevention Regardless of future crime prevention initiatives, every business can immediately take a hard look at their operations, physical layout, employees, hiring practices, and 1
overall security. Assessing vulnerability to all kinds of crime, from burglary to embezzlement takes just a few moments that include: 1. Provide training for all employees including cleaning staff -- so they are familiar with security procedures and know your expectations. 2. Use good locks, safes, and alarm systems. 3. Keep detailed, up-to-date records. 4. Establish and enforce clear policies about employee theft, employee substance abuse, crime reporting, opening and closing the business, and other security procedures. 5. Mark equipment, registers, adding machines, calculators, computers, typewriters, with an identification number (for example, tax identification or the owner’s driver’s license number – never inscribe anything with a social security number). 6. Post an Operation Identification (Operation ID) warning sticker in your store-front window. Keep a record of all serial numbers of business equipment, so police can quickly enter this information into state and federal law enforcement data bases in case of a theft. Credit Card Fraud 1. Train employees to follow each credit card company's authorization procedures. 2. If you are suspicious of the purchaser, make a note of appearance, companions, any vehicle used, and identification presented. Call your local police department. 3. Examine the signature strip on the credit card. A criminal may cover the real card owner's signature with "White-Out" and sign it on the new strip. 4. Check to see if the signature on the card compares favorably with the signature on the sales slip. Check Fraud Many fraudulent checks are visibly phony. By paying close attention to a check's appearance, you can often detect a possible bad check before accepting it as payment. Protect yourself against possible losses by requiring management approval of the check or asking for an alternative form of payment. To learn more about crime prevention services offered to Sequim City businesses please call Officer Maris Turner of the Sequim Crime Prevention Unit at 683.7227 .
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