High exclusivity promotes the threat

The city of Zurich is one of the safest cities. The crime rate is actually low. The Zurich City Police gives an insight into its work here. In the process, police spokesman Marco Cortesi reveals exciting facts and figures.

"Security is becoming increasingly important in city and shopping zones such as Bahnhofstrasse," says Urs Stadler of Securitas AG.

Zurich, one of the most expensive places in the world, attracts not only tourists but also shrewd and organized criminals. Not only at Christmas, many passers-by are fascinated by glittering showcases. Whether at dusk or in broad daylight, exclusive objects attract not only wealthy shoppers but also criminals who scout the neighborhood between Bahnhofquai and Bellevue.

Attacks on luxury businesses are published hesitantly because of possible image and reputation losses. However, spectacular cases circulate that bijouterie operators and goldsmiths have to record especially in downtown Zurich. Renowned bijoutiers, certainly also galleries, must constantly reckon with burglaries. Often the only countermeasure against networked, organized thieves: Modern
Safety engineering.

Modern "Robber Barons
Not only prominent addresses are the focus of organized "robber barons," the range of filigree jewelry and coveted watches attracts not only wealthy customers, but also criminals to sales and consulting rooms. For example, a spectacular robbery happened on April 13, 2013 (according to Tages-Anzeiger): At 9:40 a.m. on a busy Saturday, a person waiting outside the store asked to be let in. The Türler watch and jewelry store automatically opens the door.

Hereupon, four unknown persons enter the renowned store, which can be easily observed from all sides of the Paradeplatz. Four employees
are unmistakably threatened with weapons at Türler. The ominous quartet of robbers, known to the police as the "Pink Panthers," smash showcases to steal luxury watches worth several hundred thousand francs. When the police arrive, the thieves flee with pistols across the Paradeplatz in a gray sports car.

In order to protect staff and passers-by, the police "did not immediately go after the fugitives," explained Marco Cortesi, police spokesman for the city of Zurich. According to information, every trace of the gang is missing until today.

Another typical robbery on Zurich's luxury mile took place on February 4, 2014, at the Chopard jewelry store: two unknown persons were able to steal jewelry worth several hundred thousand francs. One perpetrator was equipped with a handgun, his accomplice carried special tools. At 10:45 a.m., the masked men left the jewelry store with heavy bags and fled on a scooter.

The described "burglaries" occur despite security guards posted on site and networked patrols. Unfortunately, other boutiques were not spared. La Serlas, located in the same building as Credit Suisse on Paradeplatz, has been robbed several times. Because it is almost impossible to arrest thieves during targeted robberies, luxury boutiques, as well as small businesses, cannot avoid installing modern security systems.

Stringent security architecture
Recently Cartier has opened a flagship store behind the Paradeplatz. The store's security elements show no obvious heavy locks. The boutique is more like a frigate, spatially divided by shimmering precious materials and delicate nested elements.

So, modern security facilities do not look like high-security establishments, but like comfortable lobbies, which, however, take into account the "radius of action" of criminal forces. To prevent typical thefts, one could work with closed showcases. Modern security systems, however, take much more into account. Security vendor Axis, for example, recommends a video surveillance system for the following:

Deterrence and prevention, shortened response time, a real-time analysis, comparisons of intrusion profiles.

"Those who want to be more discreet," recommends Ralph Siegfried, Business Development Manager Retail Axis, "use sensor units that are discreetly installed in the entrance area, for example. Simple design does the rest. For example, the Axis M3014 resembles a
ceiling spotlight, or one of our panoramic cameras is almost indistinguishable from a smoke detector."

It goes without saying that boutique visitors are protected by bulletproof glass and studied by video surveillance. In the worst case, however, a jewel thief can expect to be sequestered in an airlock until the intervention unit arrives.

Facilitated work processes
"Security is becoming increasingly important in city and shopping zones such as Bahnhofstrasse," says Urs Stadler of Securitas AG. Nevertheless, the subject area is rightly treated discreetly. However, he says, the management behind the actual sales corridors possesses technologies to intervene in the entire process at any time. Be it the processes in the store itself or other areas:

Unobtrusive, highly effective cameras could even be used on sales counters for detailed checks.

Special cameras can reproduce both the number of pieces and the smallest details of filigree sapphire and diamond necklaces. The details can now be seen in the highest resolution in twilight. Today, all business transactions can be documented by IP cameras. How well can several sales areas be controlled simultaneously without always having to monitor the monitors?

Certain software applications can automatically trigger an alarm if unusual communication patterns occur. This also eliminates psychological pressure on sales staff to perform monitoring functions. Depending on the case, security staff can monitor the following
the situation in real time and specialists can initiate the necessary measures via automatic remote access.

Incidentally, at La Serlas in Zurich, video technology has been used to arrest a store scout who was allegedly involved in the 2008 boutique robbery.

(Text from Security Forum, SF6, Nov. 2015, by Michael Merz)