21st Century Security and CPTED, 2nd Edition

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35

Fast Money or Fast Food

A CPTED Case Study

Randall I. Atlas

CASE STUDY: SMALL FAST FOOD RETAIL STORE

Many in the security eld know me from my writings and presentations with ASIS International

over the past few decades. I have emerged as the leader in the eld of architectural security and

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). One of the greatest rewards I enjoy

in my eld of expertise is teaching CPTED, especially to college students. I am a faculty member

of Florida Atlantic University and teach a college-level course called designing safe cities with

CPTED. As a nal class project, my students conduct a CPTED and critical infrastructure risk

assessment of a building of their choosing. One of my students is a certied police ofcer with the

Sunrise Police Department. The ofcer chose to investigate and evaluate a national chain franchise

fast food restaurant in his city that had been suffering a continuous string of crime in the form of

break-ins, vandalism, robberies, and burglaries.

This chapter is being written as a case study on CPTED techniques that others in the industry

can use to lower risk, reduce threats, and improve marketability and prot by reduction of loss and

damages.

In 2009, Broward County, Florida suffered 15,932 burglaries (http://www.fdle.state..us/Content/

getdoc/1a5f9112–9838–4d65-ad21-f5538f61f484/Broward.aspx). Burglary by Florida State Statute

is dened as the unlawfully entering or remaining in a structure or convenience with the intent

to commit a crime. Between June 2009 and March 30, 2010, there were 21 burglaries to Dunkin

Donuts stores located in 10 cities within Broward County. All of the burglaries occurred between

the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Six of the 21 burglaries occurred within the city of Sunrise,

Florida.

CONTENTS

Case Study: Small Fast Food Retail Store ..................................................................................... 851

A Series of Attacks: Crying Wolf ...................................................................................................852

Store #1 Incident Date October 9, 2009 .................................................................................... 853

Store #1 Incident Date January 15, 2010 .................................................................................. 853

Store #2 Incident Date January 4, 2010 .................................................................................... 853

Store #3 Incident Date January 23, 2010 .................................................................................. 853

Why These Stores?......................................................................................................................... 855

A Second Opinion ..........................................................................................................................867

Recommendations ..........................................................................................................................868

Postscript ........................................................................................................................................ 871

Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 873

References ...................................................................................................................................... 874

852 21st Century Security and CPTED

Florida, like the rest of the nation, has been suffering from the economic misery (Sorenson,

2009) of the recession with loss of over a million jobs, loss of affordable housing, and loss of oppor-

tunity (and this was all before the BP Oil spill crisis of 2010)! As a result, people are becoming more

desperate than ever to take advantage of opportunities for quick cash by any means possible. The

Dunkin Donut stores were selected as unique vulnerable targets, and overlooking other similar fast

food restaurants such as Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, 7-11’s, and other convenience stores

that are open long hours and have drive-through lanes. What is making the Dunkin Donut stores

attractive magnets for criminals and opportunists (see Figure 35.1)?

Dunkin Donuts claim to be the world’s biggest coffee and baked foods chain serving 2.7 million

customers daily at approximately 8800 stores in 31 countries, which includes approximately

6400 Dunkin Donuts locations throughout the United States (www.dunkinbrands.com/ourbrands/

dunkin_donuts_purchase).

Most of the stores were owned by a single independent franchisee. The same family owns all of

the locations within Broward County. They have four stores in Broward County with three in the

city of Sunrise. The stores typically operated from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Security cameras and

burglar alarms with motion sensors were installed in all of the stores that were burglarized. Half of

the stores had drive-through windows.

A SERIES OF ATTACKS: CRYING WOLF

Prior to the repeated burglaries at the stores, the thieves have scoped out the locations and went

to the stores weeks before the burglaries and rattled the storefronts after hours to create a series

of false alarms. The owner had received some notices of the alarms, and the alarm company,

ADT, determined that the alarm system was functional and found no basis for the false alarm.

FIGURE 35.1 Apparently robbery and burglary are a common occurrence for QSRs (Quick Service

Restaurants). (From Santana, S., Boca Raton police catch two men outside damaged Dunkin Donuts, link to

Subway burglary, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Apr. 27, 2010. With permission.)