BUSINESS PEOPLE in Northern Ireland have been warned by the police to review security following a series of kidnap robberies.
A 19-year-old woman was forced into the boot of a car in the Shankill area of west Belfast and ordered to call a friend at a business on Grand Parade in the east of the city to demand cash.
She refused to co-operate and was later released in the Peter’s Hill area near the city centre. She was unhurt, but is said to be badly shaken.
It was the third so-called “tiger” robbery in the past two weeks. The PSNI and representatives from the commercial sector said retailers and other business people should step up efforts to prevent crime.
They say a review of cash handling arrangements and the handling of keys are among measures which could be considered.
Det Supt Peter Farrar said the police have been working with larger organisations but said smaller businesses also had to be vigilant.
“The corner shops are also starting to become involved in these,” he told the BBC.
“I would appeal to all of those to speak to their local district crime prevention officer to consider who has access in their staff to money, or access to the safe, and what can they do to minimise that.”
He said businesses had to “reduce any chance of somebody having to come in and take money because one of their loved ones is being held hostage”.
This latest incident follows two similar robberies in the Belfast area. On Monday, a family in the Lisburn area of Co Antrim was held hostage by two men one of whom was armed. The children, a 15-year-old and two eight-year-olds, were held in separate rooms from their parents. The father was later ordered to go to a Belfast branch of Next and to hand over cash.
A similar robbery was carried out involving an employee of Marks and Spencer last week.
According to police statistics, “tiger” robberies are on the decline, with 55 notified to it since 2004. The highest profile “tiger” robbery was the theft of £26.5 million from the Northern Bank in Belfast in December 2004.
John Moore of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce, himself a city centre trader, said: “We’ve been working closely since yesterday afternoon with the PSNI. We’ll be sending out some key tactical points for members, changing normal procedures, the opening and closing of shops, cash handling and being vigilant above all – back to the old days, looking out for suspicious people hanging about, unusual cars parked for long periods of time”.
The PSNI is hoping the organising of five new neighbourhood policing teams will help improve contacts between officers and local communities.
Supt Chris Noble said: “It is critical that local residents make an effort to engage with the neighbourhood policing teams. We cannot effectively deal with the issues in your area if we are not aware of them.
“I would encourage people to make contact with my officers directly or through other channels, such as Neighbourhood Watch schemes or local community groups.”