Economic downturn leads to an upswing in thefts
Property crime can be an economic indicator, police say, and the recent rash of convenience store robberies in the region is a sure sign of bad times.
Police Chief Joseph Rebello described one robbery in Kingston last month as "a desperate-day kind of thing," since it took place at 8:30 a.m., before the store took in much money.
A combination of factors - increased desperation and the temptation of ready cash in the till - are behind the recent spate of thefts, including some high-profile and frightening encounters between armed intruders and store staff, police say.
In Carver, a man pulled a gun on a clearly frightened store clerk in an incident captured by the Quickeez Convenience Store's surveillance camera. A different North Carver convenience store was robbed twice within a few weeks. One Weymouth store was targeted twice in the same day - a detective investigating the first robbery interrupted the second one, walking into the store as a clerk and a robber struggled over a knife.
In Brockton last Sunday, a store owner, Bebiano Correia, fought with a man who threatened family members with a shotgun, and the dramatic struggle was caught on video. The store owner "instantaneously reacted and just went at him," Brockton Police Lieutenant John Crowley said.
The rash of robberies is making people who work in the stores nervous, police said.
"There is tension in clerks," said Detective Paul Donnelly of Rockland. "You see that because they're fighting back. We don't recommend people fighting back."
That message is getting through to store owners who know that cash on hand targets them for potential crimes.
"My boss said if . . . any robbery happens, just don't play hero," said Tony Mirza, a manager at BD Mart in downtown Brockton, which has suffered recent break-ins. "Nobody wants to get killed for a few bucks."
"Of course, it concerns us," said
The company's formal crime deterrence program states that 7-Eleven stores place cash registers in the front of the store because robbers do not like stores that are brightly lit with registers clearly visible from the street. It also states that keeping less than $50 in the till will deter more than 80 percent of potential robbers.
Small stores, gas stations, and even banks also have been hit by robbers in recent months. Some police officials see the holdups as part of a general upswing in crime that can be tied to an economic downturn.
"We're seeing an upswing in larceny, identity theft, credit card fraud," said Rebello of Kingston, which is also home to the Independence Mall. "Shoplifting. House breaks. Those are all the signs of a weakening economy."
A weak economy means crime goes up, Rebello said, but it may also mean police presence goes down. His department is down two officers because of a town hiring freeze.
"We're hearing about theft from all over," said Erin Trabucco, general counsel for the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, whose 3,000 members include convenience store owners. "I think that in a bad economy people become desperate and turn to other means to make money."
While store clerks grow nervous and owners worry about losses, regional police departments are placing more emphasis on cooperation with neighbors - and help from the public - in tracking down suspects and taking them off the streets.
With help from neighboring Weymouth last week, Rockland police arrested a suspect in two recent robberies. After Weymouth police picked up a man on an outstanding warrant and invited area police departments investigating robberies in their towns to question him, police said the man admitted to committing two recent armed robberies in Rockland.
Stephen Orlowski, 30, of Rockland, was charged with robbing Marian's Hair Salon Feb. 27 and South Coastal Bank March 6.
Donnelly said Rockland police are still investigating another robbery last month, this one at the Fast Lane Convenience store.
In Carver, Detective David Harriman said police are looking for links between robberies in his town and crimes in nearby Plymouth and Bridgewater.
"We're working together because we have to," Harriman said. "We're comparing similarities and seeing where it leads us."
Police advise store clerks to be conscious of their surroundings, make eye contact with customers, and cooperate with robbers' demands for money rather than risk their safety.
"Cooperate, do what they say, and get the best physical description of the person you can," Harriman said, to help police make an arrest.
Police also advise store owners to keep the windows clear of signs and displays so employees have a clear view of the outside, and to keep minimum amounts of cash in the store.
Robert Knox can be contacted at rc.knox@gmail.com. 
