In late October Marcy Birnell, a clerk at an Indianapolis 24-hour gas station, was shot in the head during a robbery, leaving her hospitalized in a medically induced comma. This was the sixth such robbery Birnell had endured since 2008. Birnell’s hospitalization and grave prognosis have prompted the Indiana General Assembly to consider a law that would make it mandatory for convenience stores and gas stations to install bullet proof glass barriers, as well as self-locking bullet proof “panic rooms” behind the counter.
MANDATORY BULLET PROOF GLASS NOT UNCOMMON
Total Security Solutions vice president Jim Richards points out that such laws are by no means unique to Indiana; he’s seen similar ordinances enacted in Minnesota and Florida. “Obviously I think it’s a good law. Personally, I don’t think anyone should be working in some of these locations without some kind of protection, by themselves, in the middle of the night.”
But Jim goes on to explain that such mandatory bullet proofing laws are not a simple win-win. Very few convenience stores and gas stations are actually run by the large corporations whose names appear on the signs. These are privately owned and operated franchises, mom-and-pop operations with razor-thin margins. When they start looking at the costs of a full-blown bulletproof installation their hearts skip a beat. “It can be pretty difficult for them to earn that cost back,” Jim admits.
KEEPING WORKERS SAFE AND COMPLYING WITH THE LAW
What can a mom-and-pop shop do? Obviously, one option is to cease operation during peak armed robbery hours (8pm to 3am). But this often means giving up a small but lucrative market. It also means disappointing customers: in many communities the local 24-hour convenience store or gas station is the only place to make an emergency midnight run for diapers, toilet paper, or over-the-counter medicine.
For shopkeepers set on keeping a late-night schedule, there are two options:
THE FUTURE FOR INDIANA’S BALLISTIC GLASS LAW
As an industry watcher, Jim thinks this legislation is a good idea–it’s really inexcusable that the gas station’s owner took no action after a string of armed robberies–but he also thinks it’s unlikely to become law in its current form. “Usually it ends up getting legislated around so that, by the time it becomes a law, you either have to have two people working late night shifts or you have to install bullet proof glass; not both.” And, of course, he sees that panic room as a non-starter. “You’ve been in a convenience store, and seen how crowded it is behind the counter; where are they going to put a panic room in these existing locations?”
