“This morning, the girl from Grove City called, crying,” Mataria said.

While the three men who two years ago robbed Mataria’s Sharpsville Food Mart, 707 W. Ridge Ave., were caught within minutes, two female employees resigned because of it, Mataria said.

“It’s hard to find good people to work these days,” he said.

Mataria said he does not have high-quality digital cameras at the Grove City store, and does not believe they captured any images that are usable to police. The Sharpsville store has better cameras, but he said he plans to upgrade the camera systems in both locations.

Kochems said camera upgrades are worthy purchases for small retailers who could be subject to robberies. He also suggested buying good security systems, insurance to cover much of the loss in robberies, and explosive dye packs.

Store owners also need to accept “a certain amount of loss,” he said.

However, panic gun purchases might not be a good idea, he said. Gun owners need to learn how to use their weapons, and spend time with them, he said. An inexperienced gun handler could escalate an incident and cause more problems, he said.

Kochems added that, while those who read the newspaper might perceive that crime is up, figures kept by the DA’s office show that the number of criminal cases that make it to Mercer are down slightly from 2006.