A new DVD has been released that deals specifically with what to do during the first 60 seconds of an armed robbery in order to survive this ordeal. What is interesting about this is that the makers of the DVD have used former Armed Robbers as consultants for the DVD.
Fighting armed robberies with former robbers
By Phil Han
ninemsn
A DVD which instructs late-night and convenience store workers how to react when confronted with armed robbers has received the support of crime victim groups and a former police commissioner.
Crime statistics show that while armed robberies of "hard targets" such as banks and armoured cars have decreased by nearly 80 percent in the last decade, attacks on unguarded service stations and corner shops have increased.
The profile of armed robbers has also changed, with nearly one third of all robbery victims being confronted by a drug addict with a weapon.
"On average, a younger untrained person is faced with a junkie who has a weapon and a substantial percentage of these people are driven by an addiction to illicit drugs," DVD-creator and film director David Goldie said.
"My approach was to find something engaging for these staff. I've got armed robbers as the teachers."
Bernie Matthews, who robbed banks for nearly 30 years and has spent 17 years in prison, is seen in the video giving viewers a perspective of what goes on during an armed robbery.
"The professional criminal has gone into other areas of crime, whether its drugs or whatnot, so now you have the young up and comings moving through the ranks robbing these soft targets," said Bernie Matthews who admits to robbing 'substantial' sums of money.
"Before professional bank robbers didn't want to go in and inflict brutality or violence, but today with the advent of the drug culture, we have physical violence and the traumatising of victims."
Goldie said he created the DVD to help teens and staff in places with a high turnover citing a major gap in the market.
"There's nothing really that looks at these sort of people who are the potential victims of armed robberies, many of them kids, and temporary and casual staff," Goldie said.
"These people want to cling onto their jobs so they tend to react in a very dangerous way if someone tries to rob them."
The DVD, which costs $499, has been endorsed by several crime fighting organisations and many see it as the only product of its kind in the world.
"As far as I can see, it's entirely unique and it's definitely more engaging then anything I've ever seen," Andrew Paterson, who is a board member on the UN based International Centre for the Prevention of Crime said.
"I think the deal is that you need to prepare people and get them thinking about armed robberies and I think this video does the job."
Former NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has also given the DVD his support.
