Pizza delivery robberies prompt new safeguards
By: Melissa Randall
@MRandallABC6
Pizza delivery guys are getting ripped off at an alarming rate around Rhode Island. Now, some stores are putting in safeguards to try and protect the drivers. For David Batista, owner of ‘Four Brothers Pizzeria and Restaurant’ in North Kingstown keeping his employees safe is a top priority.
“I have a lot of young drivers. I worry about these kids. 18, 19, 20 year olds, you know, just out of high school,” said Batista.
That concern is growing, especially after Batista heard about a robbery overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. It that case, an employee for a Providence pizza shop had a knife pulled on him by two men who had called in an order. The theft is just one of a handful of incidents reported locally in the last few months.
Batista says these days 80-90% of orders are paid for by credit card, meaning these robbers are only getting away with a few dollars at best. The thieves’ apparent desperation though, is prompting some local restaurant owners to make a change.
“We’re putting in some protocols as far as drivers and the amount of money they can carry, and whether or not they should not be going to back doors and entering homes, and what not and making sure they leave the lights on in their vehicle,” explained Batista.
Drivers at ‘Four Brothers’ will also use a new GPS system that will alert them if an address doesn’t exist, before they head out the door. But even after that, if for any reason they get an indication that something is off, the workers don’t have to make the delivery.
“If we can we’ll make a correction, but if there are areas we don’t think are safe we won’t go there,” said Batista.
© WLNE-TV 2016
