they came in and stole our cash box.
Pretty much every small business I've worked for would remove the day's take from the drawer and take everything but tomorrow's change from the premises. That would go in the safe, and the cash drawer was left open so it wouldn't get pried open.
The crime is certainly a problem, but not having basic business smarts is on the owner.
That just turns an after hours robbery into an ambush at closing.
You're never going to prevent crime like that, but leaving your cash in the store in the open is just a "Here, rob us!" sign in the window. Once they know you do it, then you're on the easy mark list.
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