THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 19, 1996 TAG: 9602160022
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
Your recent editorial concerning convenience stores, and the crime rate attached to them, needs some clarification. While it is true that convenience stores are susceptible to holdups, I think it is important for you to be aware of the following:
1. Robberies at convenience stores are down for the third year in a row, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
2. There was a 9.7 percent decline in convenience-store robberies in 1994.
3. Overall, robbery in the convenience-store industry is 24 percent below 1990 levels.
4. Convenience stores account for only 5.1 percent of all robberies in the United States.
5. Gas-station robberies fell 20 percent in the 1990-1994 period.
6. According to statistics, convenience stores continue to lead all sectors for reducing robberies; coming out on top of all categories tracked by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
7. The average dollars lost in convenience-store robberies dropped from $449 per incident in 1993 to $337 in 1994.
This outstanding improvement is due to safeguards put into effect by the convenience-store industry, including our Miller Marts, over the past four years. When things are going the right way, we should not begin to regulate.
A. C. MILLER, president
Miller Marts/Miller Oil Co. Inc.
Norfolk, Feb. 2, 1996 by CNB