Armed Raid/Robbery

You may have felt:

• You were in a situation where time seemed to stand still
• You were in a life or death situation, where you thought of your loved ones as if for the last time
• You were paralysed with fear
• You were in a robotic or trance-like state where you did what you were told to do without having any control over your actions
• If this happened at your home it may lead you to wonder if you should move from your home, or from the area where you are living.
• If this happened at your work place you may question your relationship with colleagues and your manager or employer.
• You may wonder if you should take time out of work, or think about changing your job or the type of work that you do.

If the crime was in your home

• Ask a friend or family member to come and stay as a short-term measure or stay with family or friends for a few days.
• If necessary take some time off work. Be gentle with yourself, and take things as easy as you can.
• Ask a Crime Prevention Garda to review your security and take any additional security measures advised. You can contact your local Garda Station to find the Crime Prevention Garda for your area.

If the crime was in your workplace

• If necessary take some time off work. It may help to give yourself a little breathing space before going back to work. Returning immediately to a place where you have just had this kind of experience may be difficult.
• Enquire about safety measures that can be taken to help prevent a similar occurrence. Your employer may upgrade security, or install additional alarms, or revise work procedures to try to ensure that this will not happen again. You may be able to discuss these measures with your employer, as it is important that your opinions on what will make you safe are taken into account.
• You could suggest that a Crime Prevention Garda visits the workplace to advise on how best to provide security for all staff.

Guidance for employers

It is important to take care of yourself, as you too will have been affected by the incident. For your employees it is very important to assure them that you do not consider them responsible for what happened, particularly if large amounts of money were taken. They are likely to feel some responsibility or guilt, or wonder if they could have acted differently or prevented the raid.

Reassure them that they are not responsible. Try to not minimise what has happened. It is important that you acknowledge how difficult, frightening and upsetting the experience must have been.

Provide all your staff, including those who were not present when the raid took place, with information on support for victims of crime. Promote an atmosphere where it is natural to seek help and where there is no stigma to accessing support. For employees who are badly affected it may be advisable to offer professional counselling.

It is important to carry out a review of security after a raid and to involve all staff in this process, to listen to their concerns and suggestions. If this is done it will help employees to regain a sense of security, particularly if their suggestions are taken on board. The Gardaí will be able to help in this review of security and will advise on changes that need to be made.