The following ALERT notification is being provided in preparation for planned or potential protests across the U.S., in response to the recent incident in Minneapolis.
KNOWN FACTS:
Protests in multiple cities. Some have been peaceful, and some have involved attacking law enforcement officers and vandalism of public/private properties.
Protests can escalate in the late evening hours.
Businesses have been vandalized, including several restaurant brands.
SECURITY PLAN and RECOMMENDED PRACTICES:
- Ensure you have keys available to secure your restaurant.
- Assess the need/appropriateness of employees to work outside of the building.
- Ensure no combustible items (cardboard, bins, etc.) are stored against the restaurant or under a roof.
- Remove external customer trash bins from the outside the restaurant, as they can be used as weapons.
- Take extra care if your trash bins are stored remotely from the restaurant.
- Secure trash corrals.
- If unexpected violence is encountered, move all employees to the rear of the building or the safest place available, ensuring you have a safe exit route in case of fire, etc.
- If necessary, and when safe to do so, evacuate customers and employees from the restaurant, away from the direction of the disorder.
- Ensure CCTV is working correctly.
- Photograph before and after to document all vandalism and losses to restaurants.
- Make use of panic alarm systems (if equipped), as needed; ensure they are working.
- Regularly skim tills and do not hold unnecessary amounts of cash in the day safe. Consider dropping deposits more frequently and ensure all monies in the safe are secured.
- Upon receipt of instructions from authorities or supervisors to close, and assuming it is safe to do so, follow daily restaurant closing procedures.
- Only if it is safe to do so and to help prevent acts of vandalism, Owner/Operators are encouraged to conduct frequent visits to their restaurants during many hours of the day.
- Any criminal activity should be reported to the police immediately.
- Where there has been glass breakage or debris left in your restaurant, this can pose a risk of injury to employees or customers, or a risk of food/drink contamination.
- Broken glass and other such materials must be cleaned up thoroughly and safely.
- Consider hiring security guards or off duty police, if appropriate.
- Boarding up Service, have a service lined up and on standby. Necessary, they have all materials on hand and a crew to work.
- Shuttle Service or escort to get employees to and from work if necessary.
Download the entire Demonstration Preparedness document here.