LAW & DISORDER
Gas station crime in Atlantic Canada

xBy Terry Waterfield

Over the past year or so, gas stations in the Atlantic Provinces have been faced by an increase in crime, most specifically by a number of “gas and dash” robberies, where customers fill their cars from self service pumps and simply drive off without paying. Stories in the main stream media have suggested this phenomenon is due to the increase in gasoline prices that consumers have been faced with recently. While specific numbers for these drive-off crimes are not in yet, law enforcement agencies, while agreeing that this type of crime is on the rise, are not completely convinced they are due simply to increased gasoline prices.

Graham Conrad, Executive Director of the Retail Gasoline Dealers Association of Nova Scotia (RGDA), while agreeing that the price increases are a part of the problem, feels it is a bit more complicated than a simple reaction to the price increases. “One of the reasons,” Conrad agrees, “as the cost of gasoline reaches the heights that it did, it put a lot of pressure on people who could marginally afford to buy their products and that, of course, tempted those types of people to try to steal the product.”

But he also offers a couple other reasons. “Another reason that helps explain why the rise (in crime) took place,” he says, ”is that there has been a noticeable decline of full service stations in the industry. More and more stations have gone exclusively self service and what that means is that there are fewer people on any site to provide the kind of supervision that would have been provided in the past. “The third thing that I would say that helps contribute to this, is the fact that these people at the self serve stations do more multi-tasking than they’ve ever done before. That means they’re selling lotto tickets, they’re selling cigarettes, they’re selling bars. They’re selling all these other things at the same time as they’re supposed to be supervising what’s going on at the pumps.

“You know, a human being can only do so many tasks at a time, and I do believe that that was one of the contributing factors to the rise in drive-offs.” Certainly, over the past 20 or so years, the demographics of service stations have changed considerably. It doesn’t seem that long ago when, to drive from, say Halifax to Sydney, or Moncton to Fredericton, for example, would take a motorist along a two-lane highway which passed through every town and village along the way. And every town and village sported a gas station in the centre of town.

In Halifax, for example, not that long ago, there seemed to be a service station every four or five blocks in the city centre. That is not the case any more. Motorists now make thier way from place to place on highways that skirt towns and cities, using a network of off and on ramps to feed travelers to and from these highways. And as this has taken place, no longer are gas stations situated in the centre of towns. Instead the stations have migrated to locations closer to these highways, nearer to motorists who use the most gasoline.

Being situated away from the more populous areas just makes them more popular to the criminal element, since the chances of being discovered is slimmer and response time from law enforcement is slower. “Law enforcement officers have not had the resources to follow up, or pursue, to stop this kind of crime from happening,” Conrad says. In addition, service stations no longer simply pump gas eight to six. Many are open 24 hours and most now include convenience stores selling a wide variety of merchandise. And the majority of stations now are self serve, which means employees are not at the pumps when these incidents take place.

Under the old system, employees pumped the gas and it would be difficult for a driver to drive away without paying, since the station employee would be able to provide a license number and description of the driver. That is very difficult today, as Conrad explains: “The layout of many stations, as you know, have more than one island, Those islands that are furthest from the building, closest to the street, those are the most difficult to see and supervise.




“There are fewer and fewer people (working at the stations) and the people who are there are doing different things. It simply has become easier (to steal gas).” But, Conrad insists, gasoline retailers are fighting back. “As you’ve probably seen everywhere,” he says, “The increase in surveillance cameras and security has really, really been beefed up over the last few years. “Another thing that I’ve noticed too, at a couple of sites that I drive by all the time, I’ve noticed that some stations are closing off the outside islands after hours. With those islands closed down it sort of funnels the business to the islands that are easiest to see.

“There is more and more prepayment, payment before you pump, and you are going to see more and more of that as well.” However, while so called gas-and-dash thefts have been in the news lately, the changes to the service station demographics make stations more susceptible to other types of crime, such as shoplifting and robbery, as well. Shoplifting alone can be a crippling loss to many small businesses. One U.S. website estimates that to cover a yearly loss of $1,000 in thefts, a retailer would have to sell each day over 900 candy bars.

With stations open 24 hours, with reduced staff over night, and with the aisles necessary to display merchandise, most stations are an open invitation to shoplifters. Video cameras are probably the most obvious deterrent to theft and robbery, both inside the store and in the pump areas, the knowledge that the incident is being recorded and faces and license plate numbers may be identifiable, could make a would-be criminal think twice, but there are other methods that can be employed to increase safety.

Keeping the interior, front and rear entrances well lighted can be a deterrent. Most criminals just don’t like bright lights. Likewise, locking rear entrances at night and using only one entrance for customers enables staff to see who is entering the premises. Lighting pump islands and parking lots brightly also enables staff to see who is approaching the business and the use of strategically placed mirrors allows staff to keep an eye on customers in the aisles.

Law enforcement agencies advise keeping windows clear of advertising and merchandise as much as possible. This allows not only staff to keep and eye on the pump areas, but will also allow a prospective customer to see into the interior of the station in the event something criminal is happening and will prevent them from entering into a dangerous situation. In addition, since most people now carry cell phones, they will be able to report the incident to the police. Locate the cash register in an area visible to passing motorists, pedestrians and police patrols.

Considering the use of a drop safe that can only be opened by the owner or manager ensures that large amounts of money are not kept in the cash register during overnight hours. It also allows bank deposits to be made in daylight hours. Criminals look for routine, so varying the times that bank deposits are made can throw them off. If night deposits are necessary, it is wise to use more than one person. Many robberies occur because the businesses make it convenient for the robber. Most police departments offer a business crime prevention program and offer a business crime prevention package to help owners and their employees better understand how to prevent crime.