From Cyprus Police 19/12/20
Whilst reference is made to shop owners, these measures can be used by anyone carrying a large sum of money.
Shop owners and staff transfer daily funds to their store cashier, both during opening hours and during closing hours. Every carrier of such funds is a potential target of robbery, and the chances of its victimization increase when the preventive measures it takes are lacking.
On the occasion of the Christmas period we are going through these days, during which there is an increased risk of such robbery incidents, in addition to the efforts made by the Police, a number of protection measures can be taken by the owners and staff of shops that undertake such a transfer of money to and from their store.
1. We avoid transferring money during the night hours, since in the dark conditions favour the thief and make it easy to target the money carrier. It is preferable to make more than one transfer, with smaller amounts of money during the day.
2. We pay particular attention to our actions when loading/unloading the money, which if possible can be done in an area covered by closed circuit monitoring and with adequate lighting. Before we leave, we make sure that there is no suspicious person or vehicle in the area, which we also do on arrival at our destination and before disembarking from our car.
3. We seek to be accompanied by at least another person of our trust when transferring the money. We avoid using motorcycles to transfer money. We use a car, with the doors locked and the windows closed all the way.
4. We use special briefcases to store the money and place it in the car, in a place that cannot be seen.
5. Before approaching the place where we will transfer the money, we notify a person of our trust to wait for us outside the venue. We do not disclose to other persons that we are transferring money or the place where we will transfer it.
More generally, we are alert and observant and inform the Police without delay of suspicious persons and vehicles on the phone of Citizen Line 1460 or the local Police Station.
Finally, always prioritizing our physical integrity, safety and health, we avoid any confrontation with any suspicious person who may also react aggressively against us. The discreet observation of suspected persons and the immediate information of the Police is the safest handling of such incidents by citizens.
