By Raymond Hill  
Professor Emeritus, Santa Rosa Junior College  

“Beat Knowledge and Crimes at 24-Hour Gas Stations and Convenience Stores” 

Greater San Francisco Bay Area news outlets have recently reported on several crimes at 24-hour gas stations and convenience stores. According to the FBI’s National Incident Based Reporting System (9/27/2021), convenience stores are the fourth-ranked location for violent crimes and gas stations are the seventh.  

Various reasons can account for the higher rate of crime at convenience stores, including: 

• The small number of employees per store makes it difficult to stop or deter criminals. 

• The extended hours of many convenience stores present more opportunities when few customers and/or witnesses are present. 

• The smaller size of the stores makes it easy for criminals to quickly navigate the floor plan and enter and exit close to the cash registers 

• In some stores, most purchases are in cash as opposed to electronic transactions, leading to a relatively large amount of cash, often minimally secured, at any point. 

In the recent Legal Updates “From the Classroom” article “The Flight, Plus Rule and What Does It Mean to a ....