There's been quite a decrease in robberies in the first quarter of 2012," said Officer George Spindler, Abilene Police PIO.
Abilene has seen a drop in the number of armed robberies from January to March 2012. Staying at a rate of two per month, that's only 6 aggravated robberies in the last three months, which is down from this time last year.
"in comparison to the first quarter of 2011, we saw that there was actually 14 aggravated robberies," said Officer Spindler.
And while APD can't do much to prevent armed robberies from happening, they do encourage businesses to train their employees about what to do in case of a robbery.
"Those processes are there to help litigate the robbery itself and help also with the reporting of the crime," Officer Spindler said.
And for anybody present at a robbery, armed or unarmed, witnesses should remain calm and pay attention.
"Descriptions of what witnesses see, and the directions of travel that the witnesses see these perpetrators flee," he said.
Officer Spindler also said that people should always think before taking any type of direct action, as the consequences could turn out for the worse.
"There can be unexpected consequences and deadly consequences. So risking ones life is something that needs to be carefully thought about when potentially thinking about taking direct action against an armed robbery," he said.
Abilene has seen a drop in the number of armed robberies from January to March 2012. Staying at a rate of two per month, that's only 6 aggravated robberies in the last three months, which is down from this time last year.
"in comparison to the first quarter of 2011, we saw that there was actually 14 aggravated robberies," said Officer Spindler.
And while APD can't do much to prevent armed robberies from happening, they do encourage businesses to train their employees about what to do in case of a robbery.
"Those processes are there to help litigate the robbery itself and help also with the reporting of the crime," Officer Spindler said.
And for anybody present at a robbery, armed or unarmed, witnesses should remain calm and pay attention.
"Descriptions of what witnesses see, and the directions of travel that the witnesses see these perpetrators flee," he said.
Officer Spindler also said that people should always think before taking any type of direct action, as the consequences could turn out for the worse.
"There can be unexpected consequences and deadly consequences. So risking ones life is something that needs to be carefully thought about when potentially thinking about taking direct action against an armed robbery," he said.
