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West Valley City police say they are seeing more robberies these days, and they think the economy has something to do with it. One local business is taking precautions and telling would-be robbers: "You won't get money here!"
The owner of Utah's Sconecutter restaurants says there are no big bills at his restaurants for anyone to get.
"Money immediately goes into a safe. There's limited access to that safe: only certain times of the day, a narrow window, when it can be opened," owner Michael Rytting explained.
It's just one thing he's having employees do at a time when robberies seem to be up. "Usually in the wintertime, when it gets cold, things slow down. All sorts of activities slow down; and it just seems like this year, we haven't had a break at all," said West Valley police Lt. Bill Merritt.
Sconecutter has also recently stopped accepting $100 bills. For one, they're not keeping enough money in the till to break $100. The second reason is because Rytting says it's become too difficult to identify counterfeits all the time.
"Someone comes in and just orders a small drink or a small French fry, and they want to pay for it with a hundred dollar bill. They won't look you straight in the eye. They're trying to come through quickly. Odds are, that it's not a good bill," Rytting said.
At the end of last year, federal authorities reported that arrests for making counterfeit money were up 28 percent from the year before: a five-year high.
Just last week, a Layton High School student was arrested after a number of fake $20 bills found at a local business were tracked back to him.
"We want to keep our employees and customers safe; and by making this an environment where there's no reason to come here because there's no gain for the risk, keeps everyone safe," Rytting said.
Police say if you're ever in a situation where you're either being robbed or seeing someone robbed, don't get involved unless someone is getting hurt. They also say you should put yourself in a position where you can be safe but still be a good witness.
E-mail: corton@ksl.com
