Restaurant-security seminar tapping interest

Originally published Jan. 28, 1993

A seminar on restaurant security planned by a trade group has drawn so much interest that organizers might have to cut off registrations before the Tuesday event.

The seminar, planned by the Illinois Restaurant Association in the aftermath of the murders of seven restaurant workers in Palatine, has brought "a great response," said Erik K. Jensen, executive director of the association. The seminar is scheduled for Tuesday at the Chicago Hilton & Towers.

A similar program is scheduled for May to coincide with the restaurateurs' national convention in Chicago, but the association's executives decided after the Jan. 8 murders that they should address the issue now, Jensen said. The seminar is limited to 85 people.

"Since this happened out in Palatine, we thought it was a good idea," he said.

The seminar will include descriptions of security devices and precautions, as well as demonstrations of how to react in an armed robbery, Jensen said. In the Palatine murders, the culprits apparently got in through an unlocked employee entrance.

"Of course, we found out that back doors should be locked all the time," Jensen said. "And when employees go out, someone should go with them."

Other issues will include lighting, alarm systems and methods of transferring funds to banks, he said.