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Fast Food Restaurants
Fast Food or quick service restaurants are unique commercial properties. They operate late
at night or 24-hours a day staffed by crews of young adults or juveniles. They are largely
cash-based businesses with a high amount of workplace violence against employees. By
design, they are conveniently located on major thoroughfares for quick service. The nature
of this business style makes it very convenient for customers. Unfortunately, this style of
operation also makes it an attractive target for aggressive or intoxicated persons, robbers,
and other criminals.
Nature of the Business
Fast food restaurants were developed to fill a niche in our highly transient and mobile
society. The most successful restaurants are located on major thoroughfares, in shopping
and business districts, or isolated at freeway access points. These characteristics are ideal
for quick service restaurant sales, but also create some special security issues unique to this
business sector.
Fast food is designed for immediate consumption on the premises or takeout. This format
allows for “legal loitering” for teenagers or criminal types who desire to hang out for
extended periods. Fast-food restaurants have cycles of different clientele depending on the
time of the day and day of the week. The same restaurant can cater to working commuters
during the morning, mothers and children mid-day, students in the afternoon, families at
dinnertime, and young adults in the evening, and the nightclub and bar crowd past midnight.
Each customer cycle brings different security challenges with it.
Crime Demographics
No two restaurants will experience the same crime problems in the exact same manner. That’
s why corporate cookie-cutter security programs are not always effective at controlling
patterns of crime. However, because fast-food restaurant traffic is predictable, each location
should be able to identify and measure crime activity patterns unique to that restaurant and
neighborhood. If the restaurant or fast-food chain corporate office is paying attention, each
restaurant can be assessed for risk simply by capturing and evaluating the crime experience
of the location, its competitors, and its environment.
Restaurant business operators and corporate executives shouldn’t be surprised by the
results of a crime risk analysis in comparison to other locations. I’ve done thousands of risk
surveys and found that the operators generally agree and understand the vulnerabilities.
What they are a little sketchy on is exactly what to do about it and what it will cost. In these
cases professional advice should be sought to remove the guess work and implement a
program that is cost effective.
Duty to Provide Adequate Security
Most state common law obliges a fast food restaurant operator to the legal duty to provide
reasonable and adequate security measures once they are on notice of prior crimes against
persons that may cause harm. Failing to provide adequate security, under the
circumstances, could be viewed as negligent management if an injured crime victim sued the
restaurant in civil court. The fact that fast-food chain restaurants get robbed occasionally
puts the entire chain on notice that such crimes are foreseeable and a business reality for
them.
What is Adequate Security
By definition, adequate security is that threshold level of security planning that is a
reasonable fulfillment of their legal duty of care to their restaurant customers and employees.
The level of security necessary will vary depending on the nature of a particular restaurant,
its crime demographics, and location. The security necessary will further be impacted by
special operation conditions at a particular restaurant. For example, one location may be the
stopping point for several bars that close at 2:00am and attract an influx of intoxicated
customers in the drive-thru lane; another location may be a repeated robbery target because
of the superior escape routes offered by an adjacent freeway; another location may be at the
crossroads for rival gangs with dangerous confrontations. Each scenario will bring special
problems requiring special solutions and resources.
Most fast food chains have developed a standard menu of security hardware and equipment
for all stores. These include video surveillance systems, alarm systems, time delay safes, and
robbery prevention training. As the risk of a store increases so should the level of crime
prevention measures and attention to detail with maintenance items, store security surveys,
and cash audits. It also makes sense that the managers and employees of these higher risk
locations receive frequent reminders of their security training.
Hiring, Training, Supervision
Some operators and corporate mangers do a better job of controlling the risk at their
restaurants than others. Hiring, training, and supervision of workers can affect the crime risk
of any location. Background screening is very important especially at the management level
to avoid hiring serious felons or dishonest employees. Drug testing has become a critical
component of screening especially at the store management level. I’ve seen locations with
horrendous crime histories that could be traced back to dishonest employees.
What’s the Solution?
Fast-food and quick service restaurants should develop a security plan tailored to meet the
specific needs of a property and the conditions under which it operates. Large chains should
have a menu of basic security procedures and a progressive list of add-on solutions for
higher crime properties. There is no need to reinvent the wheel or invent custom security
solutions at this level. Before reasonable security solutions can be applied, a risk
assessment must be made to determine if the solutions offered will be adequate, under the
circumstances. Unfortunately, I have seen many high-risk fast- food restaurants operate
without adequate security because no assessment was ever made or the decision to reduce
the budget won out over the safety of the customers and employees.
Obviously, the cycle of assessment and application of security solutions must be constantly
reviewed for effectiveness
Fast Food or quick service restaurants are unique commercial properties. They operate late
at night or 24-hours a day staffed by crews of young adults or juveniles. They are largely
cash-based businesses with a high amount of workplace violence against employees. By
design, they are conveniently located on major thoroughfares for quick service. The nature
of this business style makes it very convenient for customers. Unfortunately, this style of
operation also makes it an attractive target for aggressive or intoxicated persons, robbers,
and other criminals.
Nature of the Business
Fast food restaurants were developed to fill a niche in our highly transient and mobile
society. The most successful restaurants are located on major thoroughfares, in shopping
and business districts, or isolated at freeway access points. These characteristics are ideal
for quick service restaurant sales, but also create some special security issues unique to this
business sector.
Fast food is designed for immediate consumption on the premises or takeout. This format
allows for “legal loitering” for teenagers or criminal types who desire to hang out for
extended periods. Fast-food restaurants have cycles of different clientele depending on the
time of the day and day of the week. The same restaurant can cater to working commuters
during the morning, mothers and children mid-day, students in the afternoon, families at
dinnertime, and young adults in the evening, and the nightclub and bar crowd past midnight.
Each customer cycle brings different security challenges with it.
Crime Demographics
No two restaurants will experience the same crime problems in the exact same manner. That’
s why corporate cookie-cutter security programs are not always effective at controlling
patterns of crime. However, because fast-food restaurant traffic is predictable, each location
should be able to identify and measure crime activity patterns unique to that restaurant and
neighborhood. If the restaurant or fast-food chain corporate office is paying attention, each
restaurant can be assessed for risk simply by capturing and evaluating the crime experience
of the location, its competitors, and its environment.
Restaurant business operators and corporate executives shouldn’t be surprised by the
results of a crime risk analysis in comparison to other locations. I’ve done thousands of risk
surveys and found that the operators generally agree and understand the vulnerabilities.
What they are a little sketchy on is exactly what to do about it and what it will cost. In these
cases professional advice should be sought to remove the guess work and implement a
program that is cost effective.
Duty to Provide Adequate Security
Most state common law obliges a fast food restaurant operator to the legal duty to provide
reasonable and adequate security measures once they are on notice of prior crimes against
persons that may cause harm. Failing to provide adequate security, under the
circumstances, could be viewed as negligent management if an injured crime victim sued the
restaurant in civil court. The fact that fast-food chain restaurants get robbed occasionally
puts the entire chain on notice that such crimes are foreseeable and a business reality for
them.
What is Adequate Security
By definition, adequate security is that threshold level of security planning that is a
reasonable fulfillment of their legal duty of care to their restaurant customers and employees.
The level of security necessary will vary depending on the nature of a particular restaurant,
its crime demographics, and location. The security necessary will further be impacted by
special operation conditions at a particular restaurant. For example, one location may be the
stopping point for several bars that close at 2:00am and attract an influx of intoxicated
customers in the drive-thru lane; another location may be a repeated robbery target because
of the superior escape routes offered by an adjacent freeway; another location may be at the
crossroads for rival gangs with dangerous confrontations. Each scenario will bring special
problems requiring special solutions and resources.
Most fast food chains have developed a standard menu of security hardware and equipment
for all stores. These include video surveillance systems, alarm systems, time delay safes, and
robbery prevention training. As the risk of a store increases so should the level of crime
prevention measures and attention to detail with maintenance items, store security surveys,
and cash audits. It also makes sense that the managers and employees of these higher risk
locations receive frequent reminders of their security training.
Hiring, Training, Supervision
Some operators and corporate mangers do a better job of controlling the risk at their
restaurants than others. Hiring, training, and supervision of workers can affect the crime risk
of any location. Background screening is very important especially at the management level
to avoid hiring serious felons or dishonest employees. Drug testing has become a critical
component of screening especially at the store management level. I’ve seen locations with
horrendous crime histories that could be traced back to dishonest employees.
What’s the Solution?
Fast-food and quick service restaurants should develop a security plan tailored to meet the
specific needs of a property and the conditions under which it operates. Large chains should
have a menu of basic security procedures and a progressive list of add-on solutions for
higher crime properties. There is no need to reinvent the wheel or invent custom security
solutions at this level. Before reasonable security solutions can be applied, a risk
assessment must be made to determine if the solutions offered will be adequate, under the
circumstances. Unfortunately, I have seen many high-risk fast- food restaurants operate
without adequate security because no assessment was ever made or the decision to reduce
the budget won out over the safety of the customers and employees.
Obviously, the cycle of assessment and application of security solutions must be constantly
reviewed for effectiveness
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