In the 1970’s, when convenience stores began extending their hours, with many open 24-hours a day, the incidence of armed robberies began to increase at an alarming rate. From 1968 to 1973, robbery in chain stores increased 167% compared to an overall increase in robberies of 39% during the same period. The Western Behavioral Sciences Institute, under a grant from the National Institute of Justice and in cooperation with the Southland Corporation, conducted research, including social studies of convicted armed robbers, to look at the stores from the robbers’ point of view and then devise countermeasures to deter theft. The studies determined that two of the most important factors to a criminal in selecting a store to rob were the availability of cash and the ability to get it quickly
As a division of the Southland Corporation, Tidel (an acronym for TImed-DELay) designed the first timed-delay cash access safe initially for use only in 7-Eleven stores. Simply, the Timed Access Cash Controller (TACC) makes a store less attractive to a potential robber. By moving a store’s change fund and excess cash into a TACC unit, there is no available cash in the store, outside the minimal required amounts in the register drawer. As a TACC unit is programmed to dispense cash on a timed-delay basis as a store’s cashier requires funds (for example, not more than once every three minutes), a store’s excess cash is not available quickly - and the thief goes elsewhere.
Twelve years after the Southland Corporation began implementing its first theft prevention plan, 7-Eleven stores had experienced a 65% decrease in robberies nationwide during the period from 1975 to 1986. Ten years later, in 1996, that figure was still unchanged despite an increase in robberies elsewhere during the decade. FBI statistics reflect a remarkable nationwide decrease in the incidence of armed robbery in convenience stores from Tidel’s inception through 1992. According to the convenience store industry, robberies declined another 45% from 1992 to 1998. Since its beginning over twenty-five years ago, Tidel Safe has installed more than 150,000 TACC units in 38 countries.
While Tidel’s Timed Access Cash Controllers continue to provide effective theft prevention for retailers worldwide, we respond to the demands of the marketplace by creating innovative solutions for new cash management problems. For lottery retailers, Tidel Safe introduced the TACC III to allow stores to pay out potentially thousands of dollars per week in winnings without exposing a store’s excess cash or reducing the safety of its employees. The TACC III interfaces directly with online lottery terminals to automatically dispense winning amounts without disrupting the store’s regular timed-delay schedule.
Tidel Safe continues to build on its success in the retail Cash Control market by integrating new features and functionality into the TACC product line. Through the development of more cost-effective services, Tidel’s customers continue to reap the benefits of added security and efficiency through better Cash Control.