Instead, the police would prefer to work in partnership with businesses toward crime prevention. To that end, they offer free training on ways to make a business less appealing to robbers, and what to do during a robbery to avoid injury and to be better able to identify suspects. They will also help, just by dropping by, if a suspicious-looking person seems to be casing the premises. By working together, both parties can achieve their goals of reducing crime. After all, robbery costs everyone.
Taxpayers pay for medical, legal and police expenses.
For a business, a robbery can result in higher insurance rates and compensation premiums, loss of business, civil litigation, and criminal charges. But most of all, robbery can cost lives. Our store owner's story is fictitious. No Canadian business owner has been prosecuted for not implementing changes necessary to prevent robbery - yet. But given the circumstances . . . .