Social Media to Thwart Crime

CSD Staff
Mar 14, 2012

Convenience Store Decisions

Mac’s Convenience Stores has added social media to its crime prevention tactics in its Canadian convenience stores.

Mac’s Stores in Central Canada have developed an innovative approach to augment its formidable crime prevention measures by using social media to help identify criminals through Facebook and Twitter.

According to The Chronicle-Journal, Mac’s will use these social media outlets to blast their crime fighting messages out to the community. Each Mac’s store is equipped with surveillance cameras and a DVR unit and when an incident occurs, suspect images from the DVR are turned over to the police. To assist the police in identifying these suspects, Mac’s will now proactively post these images of recent unsolved crimes on their Mac’s Crime Busters Facebook page and on twitter @MacsCrimeBuster.

The images will have a description of the suspect and alleged crime, followed by an appeal to the public to contact Crime Stoppers if they have any information that will assist the police in apprehending the suspect.

“We hope this forward thinking approach to crime prevention will assist in the resolution of unsolved crimes” Sean Sportun, manager of security and loss prevention for Mac’s in Central Canada told The Chronicle-Journal. “Exposing criminals on our social media pages will certainly make them think twice before victimizing our retail business.”

Mac’s stores will post notices at their entrances and on our in-store media screens, advising customers of their intention to use images of individuals who commit criminal acts on their property. Once a suspect is arrested their image will be taken down and replaced with a title “apprehended.”

“Mac’s Convenience Stores has made Crime Prevention an integral part of our corporate responsibility. We have the technology and we are going to use it” said Tom Moher, Mac’s vice president of operations in Central Canada told the The Chronicle-Journal. “By using social media we will reach a more diverse demographic in our effort to combat crime and enhance public safety.”

Working in partnership with law enforcement and Crime Stoppers, Mac’s goal is to:
* Create awareness on retail crime.

* Expose individuals who commit criminal acts against Mac’s by posting their images on facebook & twitter, with a description of their alleged criminal act.

* Provide the public with a conduit to report criminals anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

* Assist law enforcement in identifying offenders, especially those repeat offenders.

* Enhance the safety & security of our customers and employee.

Along with posting the surveillance images, Mac’s will also be covering the $200.00 reward paid out by Crime Stoppers.

Links to the Mac’s Crime Busters social media pages:
www.facebook.com/MacsCrimeBusters
https://twitter.com/#!/MacsCrimeBuster