"The shooting of Geraldo Serrano on Sunday morning is outrageous and we cannot allow this type of brazen behavior to be accepted in our city," said Menino. "The police are doing everything in their power to apprehend [image-nocss] the suspects responsible and to prevent these senseless acts of violence from occurring but more can be done. As a community, it is our responsibility to help store owners better protect themselves by educating them of better practices and providing them with resources to make the necessary security upgrades."
Store owners can take part in the Convenience Store Safety Initiative by calling the Mayor's 24-hour hotline (617) 635-4500.
The initiative encompasses three major areas:
Education. The city will provide training for store owners, managers and employees on how to properly maintain cash registers and what to do when a robbery occurs. Police Presence. The Boston Police Department (BPD) will launch an enhanced outreach effort to the City's convenience stores, increasing foot traffic and utilizing community policing techniques to develop strong, positive relationships between convenience stores and neighborhood offices; Store Security Improvements. After a thorough in-store assessment is completed by city officials and security experts, the Department & Neighborhood Development's (DND) ReStore Boston program and others will help store owners achieve better security by improving visibility, installing alarm systems and security cameras. Working with its Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) and local store owners, the BPD will continue to maximize public safety by increasing visibility in identified areas and officers will carry on their outreach efforts to provide security tips and techniques to enhance safety.
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