crime

Sushi chain gives staff crime-prevention training following string of robberies

34 Comments

A Chiba-based sushi restaurant chain is training its staff in crime-prevention techniques after a string of robberies.

The Kozo Sushi restaurant chain has been training staff in how to accurately describe a robber to police emergency operators, NTV reported Tuesday. The training was introduced as a result of the chain being robbed seven times since November of last year.

In regard to the robberies, Chiba police say they are continuing to investigate the possibility that the seven robberies were carried out by the same person or members of one gang.

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34 Comments
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Or they could install CCTV focused on their cash till area so that they can get an accurate photo of any robbers and also instate a policy limiting the amount of cash that is kept in the till in the first place to minimise the loss during theft.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

How funny, Okinawamike. My friend told me her brother was a sushi chef in Okinawa and when a punk entered the restaurant and demanded money, he waved the knife he was using and told the punk, "Come right up to my face and tell me again what you want." The punk fled. It probably helped that my friend's brother was a big guy who used to play football.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

"how to accurately describe a robber"

Male, medium height, medium build, dark jacket and pants, baseball cap, mask. 

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Install CCTVs or hire Professional Security Personnel but PLEASE do no bother poor part-time workers.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Agree with above. Install some High Res CCTV's. Can't be too difficult these days. Seven times borders on suspicious.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Before fighting crime, fight for your own life. Give them what they want. Save your own life. Money comes and goes. When a life is lost, it won't come back.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

@Okinawamike i agree, does sushi knives are sharp and some are Huge!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Or they could just buy a bunch of color balls. Seems to work pretty well for convenience stores.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

First and foremost the staff should be told to comply with whatever the robber say's. Give me the money- give it to him. Some frightingly number of years ago I sat in on a session where staff were told what to do in the case of armed robbery. There was an acronym that was drilled into the staff along the lines of observe, heigth (to be estimated by the size of the door), age, colour and things like that. But always it was "GIVE THEM THE MONEY".

Probably covered by insurance anyway. I think the thing to remember is in most cases by the time someone decides they are going to do an armed robbery they are either desperate, not in a good place, or both. Unless your boss is going to raise you from Y1000 per hour to Y5000 per hour I'd give the heroics a miss.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

With a largely homogeneous population,a member of staff more intent on keeping his skin intact than studying the finer points of an assailants appearance, and the tendency for people to differ in their descriptions of what they actually saw, CCTV is by far the best solution. Remember a few months ago the fugitve from the Police who tried to hand himself in and was redirected to another station having not been recognised by the Jcop even though his face had been plastered on posters all over Japan for 10 years?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Curious, what are they using to rob these places? Sticks or knives since I thought that guns were outlawed in Japan.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Just have the Sushi Chef demonstrate an alternate use of a Sushi knife to the robber.

If nothing else, there would be some DNA lying around afterwards.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Ditto nsg79. Guess Kozo Sushi needs some bright bulbs or they weighed the costs of the purchase/installation/whatever of CCTVs versus KS man going around giving training and decided to go with the training.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Not just a tall buy wearing a black hat hey?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

training staff in how to accurately describe a robber to police emergency operators

This is not a crime-prevention technique. This is a crime reporting technique.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

My guess is that the robberies were carried out by the same person/gang. If at first you succeed, try and try again. Hopefully, the crime-prevention training will be effective and offset the chain's reputation as an easy target.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I think the staff should just cooperate with the suspect, hand over the money and avert eye contact. Just do everything they can to keep themselves and the customers safe.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I wonder if these poor employees had to come in out of hours for this (probably unpaid) "training".

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This is not a crime-prevention technique. This is a crime reporting technique.

Well, to be fair, if and when they catch the perp, that would prevent further crime by such person(s). So it has the potential to prevent further crime.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

um how is this news? maybe being robbed 7 times in 5 months is news but this training isn't useful or ground breaking.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Generally the kitchen help is seperated from the cashier who is way up front and usually has no contact with the kitchen I believe. It would be difficult for the cashier if it were a young woman to resist.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Pepper spray and sushi battons all around

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A raise to Y5000 per hour isn't enough either. Hard to collect that when you're dead. Surveillance cameras and security staff would help. But numerous robberies in a few months say a great deal about the employer's attitude. He didn't start nearly soon enough to safeguard his business or his staff.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Give them all shotguns.

Robbers will think twice when they don't know what's behind the counter!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They could train their employees in how to use a mop to whack the robbers. I heard about how a convenience store employee in the States whacked a knife-wielding robber with a mop and chased him out of the store.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Also that's how Akeem subdued the gun-wielding robber at McDowell's restaurant in Coming to America, ha ha!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

oh because you said crime prevention i thought you were going to say they were learning how to fight.

But this is a good idea. crime preparedness is important. Places all over the world should do this.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Back in the days when I worked at a steakhouse, three guys intended to come through the back door for who knows what reasons (probably stealing). This was during work hours. A few minutes later they were trying to escape, one of them crawling, because we hit them with everything we had (mugs, trays, kitchen tools, etc.) not to mention the chef was someone not to mess with.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

after 7 robberries a little too late lol.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I would hope that they are just training their employees on how to describe the perp and securing the area after the perp leaves. Dont wanna have some part time worker trying to go after a robber or trying to prevent a robbery of a restaurant and gets himself hurt or killed. Getting good information on the robber is vital in the police investigation and the longer the robber is standing there, the more evidence can be accumalated. Those CCVT camera's would be an excellent idea for starters...markings on the door frame showing height would be good also. Securing the crime scene is most important....no one comes in/out till the police get there. Nobody touches anything the robber touched until the police get there.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Just give em a slap with a kipper.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The Kozo Sushi restaurant chain has been training staff in how to accurately describe a robber to police

Yes, officer, he was average height and build, with black hair, wearing a surgical mask.

Once again, ritual trumps action. Every time.

-10 ( +2 / -12 )

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