The armored truck was waiting near a Pay-O-Matic check-cashing store in south Brooklyn, when the driver heard a knock on the rear door. So he unlocked it. He later told investigators that he had assumed that the vehicle’s guard had been knocking, having finished his pickup at the check-cashing store. But the man who entered the armored truck was not his partner. It was a gunman with a scarf wrapped around his head.
The robber put a gun to the driver’s head and ordered him to start driving. The truck, which looks more like a van, went up Rockaway Parkway and turned right on Linden Boulevard. Some two miles away from the check-cashing store, the robber got out of the vehicle with a bag containing between $429,000 and $500,000, and took off on foot, the police said.
Stories such as this are becoming more frequent of late, with the NYPD reporting 44 armed robberies in 2012 as compared with only 26 previously─ almost double the rate. Even armored cars are now subject to security issues from their own employees, and reports say that small personal items like cellphones are now the subject of almost 80% of theft cases, with an overall 14% rise in general items stolen. Though police are certainly stepping up patrols and upgrading their surveillance equipment, it seems that you have to find better solutions for securing your personal property.
Brooklyn storage companies, such as Gibraltar Self Storage, offer a wide range of security features that may be better equipped to handle your needs. Some of them boast the ability to store anything, from your small personal belongings up to very large pieces of commercial equipment, and they have adequate equipment to assist you in moving in and out. They also provide 24/7 state-of-the-art security and climate controlled units, so if you’re in between jobs or moving to a different home, consider engaging their services; make sure, though, to inspect their facilities yourself to determine if they are truly adequate.
Of course, the best way to protect yourself is constant vigilance of your surroundings. Brooklyn self storage companies are very useful, but you shouldn’t get complacent and feel too comfortable about your belongings. Personal preparedness and being well informed are still the best forms of security and you should contact your local authorities immediately at the first sign of trouble.
(Inside Job Is Considered in Armored-Car Robbery, nytimes.com, August 23, 2013)