Argentine cops called in to stop restaurant stick-‘em-ups

Heists in Buenos Aires restaurants may have their days numbered. In the face of increasing armed robberies over the last weeks, more than half a thousand police officers are now patrolling local eateries with a view to protect both owners and patrons.

The wave of holdups now sweeping restaurants in the Argentine capital is certainly pushing the panic button among businesspeople and their clientele, so loud that the Buenos Aires Police Department has decided to beef up security around those establishments.

A group of 600 law enforcement officers has been assigned the mission of fighting back this kind of criminal activity that has already taken two lives in recent weeks.

As a complement to heightened security, restaurant owners should take some actions of their own such as mounting CCTV surveillance cameras and urging patrons to pay with credit cards in order to avoid accumulation of cash in telling machines, robbers’ most coveted bounty.

But collaboration efforts won’t stop there. The local police department is making plans to dole out sheets of paper among hoteliers and guests –nationals and foreigners alike- containing ten useful instructions to prevent armed robberies.

This close cooperation will allow cops to map out a “crime blueprint” to trace all assaults committed in the Buenos Aires area and therefore make a better distribution of police officers on the beat.