Local Convenience Store Operators Shatter Bulletproof Glass Idea

Operators of Ventura County convenience stores and other businesses open late at night say new recommendations for bulletproof glass to deter robbers are not realistic.

While the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration this week recommended retail outlets that are frequently robbed use such measures to improve the safety of clerks, many store operators disagree.

Some say it would ruin the ambience of their business, and others say it’s just not practical.

Bulletproof glass “would ruin the relationship with customers,” said Pat Gonzalez, manager of a Little Caesar’s Pizza store on Doris Avenue in Oxnard that has been robbed at gunpoint several times during the past couple years.

Retail clerks are gunned down in such numbers that their job ranks among the most dangerous in the country, according to government studies. Studies show that about 1,000 workers, nearly half of them employed in retail stores, are killed every year in robberies. An additional 18,000 are victims of assaults and other violence.

In an attempt to create basic protections for night clerks working in convenience stores and other retail outlets, OSHA has also recommended there be more than one clerk on duty at night.

Good lighting is also on the list of OSHA’s nonbinding recommendations. The agency also suggests retail stores keep a minimum amount of cash on the premises, keep windows clear of obstructions, train workers how to behave during an armed robbery and use security cameras.

Although some store owners said cameras might help, adding a second employee at night would be costly and not very effective, many said.

“I don’t think they [the recommendations] are made by people who are in the business,” said Jim Bayse, owner of Surf Liquor and Pierpont Liquor in Pierpont.

“They don’t understand the problem,” said Bayse, who has been in the liquor sales business 23 years.

Owners of two Santa Paula Chevron stations, one of which was robbed twice in February, say bulletproof glass and security cameras may make employees feel safer, but would cost money they don’t necessarily have.

“Some places are small like mine and you’d have to raise the price of gas to make up for the extra expense,” Beverly Franks said. “Somebody has to pay for it. . . . I might have to close the station because I don’t make that much money to begin with.”

The OSHA guidelines, titled “Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs in Late Night Retail Establishments,” are available on the Internet at https://www.osha.gov