Cash Handling and Robbery Response: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Safe cash routines

Cash attracts crime because it is fast to take and hard to trace. Your job is not to fight for money. Your job is to make the site a poor target and to keep people safe. Most of that work happens long before anything goes wrong.

Keep cash low

Set a cash limit for each till and stick to it.
Move extra cash to a drop safe or time-lock safe that the cashier cannot open. Then no one can be forced to hand it over.
Count cash out of public view, away from windows and doors.
Use two people for counts and safe drops where possible, and record each step on a log or form.
Never talk about how much cash is on site, when the safe is emptied, or when deposits happen.

Make the site visible

Robbers prefer places where no one can see them. Keep the inside and outside well lit. Keep windows and doors clear of posters so staff can see out and people passing by can see in. Keep back and side doors locked. Alarms with panic buttons and cameras help, and signs that point them out can discourage a robber.

Lesson 2: Cash escorts and deposits

Moving cash between a till, a safe, a vehicle and a bank is one of the riskiest moments. A criminal who watches a site for a few days can learn a routine that never changes.

Vary deposit times, days and routes so no one can predict them.
Use a plain, disguised bag, not a bright bank bag with a logo.
Walk with a partner where possible, and keep your hands free.
Before you leave, look outside for people or vehicles that seem to be waiting or watching.
Park as close as you safely can, and do not stop on the way.
Keep your phone ready and tell your supervisor or dispatch when you leave and when you arrive.

If you are attacked or threatened during an escort, hand over the bag. Your life is worth more than any deposit. Then get to safety, call 911 and write down everything you remember.

Lesson 3: Checking bank notes

Canada's polymer bank notes have security features that are easy to check in a few seconds. The Bank of Canada suggests four checks.

Check	What to do	What a real note shows
Feel	Run your fingers over the note	Raised ink on the large portrait, the large number and the words "Bank of Canada"
Look	Look at the large transparent window	A metallic portrait and numbers that match the note's value
Tilt	Tilt the note	The metallic portrait and other features change colour
Flip	Turn the note over	The metallic portrait in the window matches the large portrait, on both sides

If you think a note is fake

Stay polite. The person may not know the note is counterfeit.
Refuse the note and explain that you think it may be counterfeit.
Ask for a different note, and check that one too.
Suggest the person take the suspect note to the local police.
Tell your supervisor and report it to local police, following your site's procedure.

There is no reimbursement for counterfeit money. A business that accepts a fake note usually takes the loss, so checking is worth the few seconds it takes.

Lesson 4: During a robbery

Under section 343 of the Criminal Code, robbery is theft with violence or threats, an assault with intent to steal, or theft while armed with a weapon or an imitation weapon. Robberies are fast and frightening. A robber is often nervous and unpredictable, so your goal is to get everyone through it unharmed.

Stay calm and cooperate. Do what the robber asks. Do not argue or try to be a hero.
Treat every weapon as real and loaded, and believe any claim that the robber has one.
Keep your hands visible. Before any movement, such as reaching under the counter, tell the robber what you are about to do.
Do not offer extra information, such as where the safe is.
Press a silent alarm only if you can do it without being noticed. Otherwise, wait until the robber has gone.
Observe quietly. If there are several robbers, study the one closest to you.
Note the weapon, voice, words used, and anything the robber touched.

Lesson 5: After a robbery

Lock the doors as soon as the robber leaves, and keep them locked until police arrive.
Call 911. Give the location, the direction the robber went, the vehicle and a short description.
Give first aid to anyone who is hurt, within your training.
Protect the scene. Keep people away from places the robber stood or touched.
Ask witnesses to stay until police arrive. You cannot force them, so note their names and contact details.
Do not discuss the robbery or compare accounts. Each person writes down what they saw and heard.
Write your notes as soon as it is safe: height, build, age, hair, clothing, weapon, voice, accent, scars or tattoos.
Tell your supervisor and complete the incident report.

Section 494 of the Criminal Code lets any person arrest someone they find committing an indictable offence, and anyone other than a peace officer must hand the person to police right away. But the law allowing an arrest does not make it safe. Police advice is clear: do not chase or fight a robber.

A clear incident report records who, what, when, where and how, in the order things happened.

Lesson 6: Working alone and late-night retail

Working alone at night with cash is a known risk. Rules come from each province's occupational health and safety law, so they differ across Canada. Two examples:

Province	Key rules
British Columbia	Lone workers in gas stations and stores open between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. need a written cash-handling procedure. During those hours the employer must use a locked barrier, add another worker, or run a violence prevention program (time-lock safe, good visibility, limited access, cameras, signs, a worker aged 19 or older with a monitored emergency transmitter).
Alberta	Employers must assess hazards, give lone workers an effective way to call for help and check on them regularly. Retail fuel and convenience store workers alone must wear a personal emergency transmitter monitored by the employer or a designate.

Wherever you work, know your check-in times, keep your phone or radio charged, and know how to trigger your alarm or transmitter.