PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Sint Maarten Police (KPSM) has officially launched its campaign armed robbery, which is geared towards educating businesses on how to avoid becoming a victim of an armed robbery. The island has been suffering from an uptick of armed robberies over the past few months, which have not gone unnoticed by KPSM. The Community Police Officers (CPO) has put together a campaign targeted at helping businesses to protect themselves and their property from armed robberies which will be carried out in the upcoming days to come.
The detectives of the Special Unite Robberies (S.U.R.) have been kept busy investigating a spree of robberies that have been reported over the past couple of weeks during October. During each robbery reported, the unknown perpetrator(s)entered the establishment dressed in dark-colored clothing, brandishing a weapon and demanding their daily earnings.
Seeing the uptick, the CPOs found it imperative to educate the business owners in an effort to minimize the risk of being targeted by these criminals. The best way to “deal with” with armed robberies is to prevent them. Understand that robbers commit crimes because they believe that the payoff outweighs any risk. During the campaign, the CPO’s will be visiting various supermarkets within the community that has been targeted in the past to provide them with some tips on how to prevent a robbery. KPSM will also be donating height stickers to be placed at the entrance of the supermarket to better help detectives with a description of the perpetrator in the event a robbery occurs. The officers will also provide the store owners with flyers and pamphlets with tips on what to look out for and how to better prepare your property to deter potential robbers.
Robberies usually take place when there’s a lack of planning for emergency situations and when poor cash handling is involved. Without the right security measures, many businesses unknowingly make criminal situations convenient for robbers. We will continue to do our part and we will continue to ask the community to assist. Only by working as a unit can we stop the individuals who go into the community looking for an easy payout by committing a robbery. Prevention is always better than finding a cure.
