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Manchester Police Seek To Reduce Robberies By Training Store Workers

Ryan Lessard
/
NHPR

  With robberies in Manchester on the rise in recent years, police are now training convenience store workers on how to prevent robberies and what to do when one occurs.

Crime Prevention Officer Paul Rondeau told store clerks today that real life robberies are nothing like the movies. Hey says they’re typically brief and those robbing the stores are often desperate addicts.

“During a robbery, you and the robber have something in common: you both want to the ordeal to be over as quickly as possible and without anybody getting hurt. If you can make that happen for him, he will make that happen for you.”

Rondeau cautioned against workers fighting back, saying this introduces enormous personal risk for a small amount of money.

The department held a similar training session, this spring. The seminar includes tips for preventing robberies such as using video cameras, and engaging all customers as they enter.

There have been 173 robberies in Manchester this year, numbers actually on track to be lower than last year’s. There were 204 robberies through September last year.

Credit Courtesy of MPD
Part 1 crime statistics for Manchester in 2014 so far.

Before becoming a reporter for NHPR, Ryan devoted many months interning with The Exchange team, helping to produce their daily talk show. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in Manchester with a major in Politics and Society and a minor in Communication Arts. While in school, he also interned for a DC-based think tank. His interests include science fiction and international relations. Ryan is a life-long Manchester resident.
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