Police Offer Advice to Help the Robbery Victims Fight Back : Thefts: The Van Nuys seminar for merchants resulted from a 33% increase in holdups this year.

Most came with war stories.

The operator of the yogurt shop that was robbed by two gunmen just three nights ago. The owner of two convenience stores robbed four times in 10 years. The 7-Eleven manager who was robbed of the store’s nightly bank deposit--along with his wallet, watch and car.

The stories shared the same theme--that the threat of robbery, injury, even death, haunts many among the legions of people who work behind the counters of small businesses in the San Fernando Valley.

Gathered in a Van Nuys church Wednesday, about 30 small business operators attended a “robbery seminar” conducted by Los Angeles police experts, who gave tips on how to prevent robberies, how to react while they are taking place and how best to help police capture the thieves.

Raj Chopra, whose two Valley convenience stores have been robbed repeatedly, said he came to the seminar because he believes any kind of crime prevention helps.

“If there is any kind of tool I can use to stop this, I am interested,” Chopra said. “It’s a war, always an ongoing fight. It used to be robbers wanted a lot of money and wouldn’t come to the small stores so much. Now people need money for drugs. They will rob you for just a few dollars.”

The seminar was prompted by a dramatic increase in robberies in the Valley so far this year. Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 21, there have been 4,009 robberies reported--a 33% increase over the same period last year.

“Robberies are increasing at what we might say is an alarming rate,” Deputy Chief Mark A. Kroeker said.

He said that while robbery arrests have also risen, increased awareness by business operators could result in fewer robberies and more arrests.

Police experts schooled the seminar group on ways of preventing robbery, including making cash registers visible from outside by locating counters near windows and making eye contact with customers as they enter or make purchases.

Officers said that if a robbery occurs, victims should cooperate fully.

Officer Steve Margolis, a memory retention expert, said that following a robbery, the victim should take a few moments to close his eyes and review what happened. Sometimes, reviewing the events of the robbery in reverse order helps the victim memorize key details about the robber’s appearance, weapon, and objects in the store he might have touched. Robbery Detective Dan Riehl said fingerprints left in stores are often the keys to arrests.

Officers also passed out “prompt sheets” containing descriptive terms that help victims identify types of guns and the appearance of robbers.

The seminar was well received by those in attendance and police plan to hold more in other parts of the Valley.

Lori Belland, a supervisor for several 7-Eleven franchises in the northeast Valley, said that robberies occur frequently at the stores and that her company already has a comprehensive program for preventing robberies and helping police.

“But everything helps,” she said, referring to the seminar, “as long as you pass it on to the people working in the stores.”

Harvinder Sidhu, a 7-Eleven manager, said he has learned a lot about preventing robberies through experience. Two years ago, he was robbed while taking his store’s $8,000 deposit to the bank. He said he saw the man loitering near the deposit machine but did not realize the danger. At gunpoint, he was robbed of the deposit, his own jewelry, wallet and car.

He was unhurt but the frightening experience has changed how he does business. He no longer wears expensive jewelry and changes out of his 7-Eleven shirt when going to the bank.

“Taking precautions is the most important thing to do,” he said after Wednesday’s seminar. “I was robbed once and I don’t want it to happen again.”

For one woman, the seminar was a few days late. The Van Nuys yogurt shop operator said she was already planning to attend the robbery seminar when she was robbed by two gunmen Monday night.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said her shop is robbed an average of once a year. She was suspicious of the men who came in as she was closing Monday. But, as happens with most shop owners, she could not rule out the possibility that they were legitimate customers. Then they pulled guns. She described two minutes of terror as the gunmen found little money in the cash register and demanded that she open the safe.

“At that point they got mean and started shouting at me,” she said. “Fortunately, I had the keys to the safe. Otherwise, I might not be here.”

Robbery Prevention Tips

* Lighting: Improve exterior lighting and camera surveillance of businesses.

* Visibility: Make cash registers visible from the outside by locating counters near windows.

* Vigilance: Identify people who may be “casing” the business.

* Eye contact: Make eye contact with customers as they enter or make purchases.

* Cooperation: If a robbery occurs, cooperate fully.

* Observation: Observe the appearance of the robber and the weapon, noting the height of the suspect by comparing him to a nearby stationary object.

* Fingerprints: Observe objects that the suspect has touched.