Tired of the corporate world...about to start my own small business.  Looking specifically at doing a fast food type restaurant in the "not so desirable part of town".  The strip center is new...location is directly off of a busy street.  What are some suggestions to deter crime?  One idea I have in mind to is build the counter high so that we have the vantage above the customer...any other ideas!

Video cameras, and a good recording system, locked in a secure cabinet.

Make sure you have enough counter help so no one can walk in un-noticed.

Watch for "change" scammers.

Don't take checks if at all possible.

A real safe for the office.

If possible a mangers office with "one way glass" that is visible to people at the customer side of the counter.

...and if at all possible, hire intelligent managers who know the laws, and have CCW's.

consistently cleaning the register out, keeping minimal amount of cash in the drawer at any one time.  Make at least 2 deposits per day to keep the cash out of the store.  Maybe look into a time lock safe for cash that must be on hand in the office....

Good exterior lighting, minimal landscaping that would provide a hiding place. Discourage people from "hanging out" in the parking lot.  Another vote for keeping the windows uncluttered.

Screen your employees carefully.  Establish a zero tolerance for those who "come up short" in the cash register.  Establish a "two person policy" when counting down a cash register and/or making deposits.  All the above suggestions are great but will not help if you have criminals working for you.

Many of the calls I have been on when dealing w/fast food places have ended up being inside jobs w/little to no evidence.

Once you are up and running, have someone come in and give your employees a class in security so they are educated as to what to look for and how to look for possible trouble before it starts.  Situational awareness is your best defense.

Good luck.

Normally  you can get local criminal background checks on people for a very small fee (here it's $7 per) to weed out the bad eggs that apply.

Btw... adult arrest records are a matter of public record.  You could also just make a call downtown and waste the phone time.

Like previously stated, and it is absolutely right, Don't block your windows! Post your signs on the interior walls. If you have video cameras make sure they view the doors and registers, and for pete's sake change the tape at least once a month,I have personally viewed many tapes of robberies that were for the most part useless because of poor quality grainy video,Don't go cheap on the tape.The best I have seen are the digital recorders, but of course,they are expensive.You may or may not want to be behind bullet proof glass with a revolving window which business is conducted from,but it tends to decrease customers, I get that from fast food/convienience stoor owners in  Chicago  where I am a Police officer.It's kind of a trade off between safety and profitability, I suggest opting for safety.

No one suggested it but if you give cops a break on food or drinks then tend to stop by a lot. SOPs vary but most allow cops to accept a discount up to you on if it's worth it to ya.  places around my location go from charging us nothing to half to full price. You could even set up a substation a little office/closet for the cops to do paper have a cup of coffee make a phone call on a land line. We have um in 7/11's and grocery stores.  Maybe have a phone jack near a table in the back and a phone to hand the cop when they come in if they need it. Flag a cop down in the area of your business/store and have a conversation with them.  This may not work if your location is truly in a damn warzone.

I'd have to echo the employee screening. Worse shooting around here was a steak and shake EX employee lined them up in the cooler and shot three in the head killing 2. Lots of burglary/robbery all related to EX employees lots of times nothing to go on.  

Good employees are key we tended to hang out at another resturant quite a bit, one night an armed robbery BOLO /APB came out and we all scribbled down the info and asked our waitress to hang on while we wrote down the info. An hour or so later the resturant called and said the suspects were inside the resturant eating and their car was parked outside. Sure enough two suspects matching the clothing description and the stolen car with the proper tag was in the parking lot. The employees opened up the back door asked the eating customers to get up and leave through the kitchen quietly we sent 2 guys one rifle one shotgun through the back and a dog team to the front with the entire parking lot surrounded. The bad guys sat there for a while noticed no one was around got up started looking around and bingo dog through the front and 2 longgun armed cops popped up from behind the counter. All because she paid attention to our radios.

I appreciate all the responses....I agree with the situational awareness as well as the discount for LEO's.