Brave Saturday girl foils a knife-wielding robber
Tuesday 15th March 2011, 2:30PM GMT.
PC Jarrod Turian outside Saiko in Mill Street yesterday. Kelvin Batiste is now serving four years for his failed attempt to rob the shop. (Picture by Tom Tardif, 1109201)
AN 18-YEAR-OLD Saturday assistant’s bravery prevented a knife-wielding robber’s raid on a shop.
Gemma Dorrity stood up to Kelvin Batiste, 25, when he entered Saiko in Mill Street on 3 April last year, demanding money.
And her resolve meant that Batiste walked away empty handed, it emerged in court.
Police said later that Miss Dorrity had been very brave.
In the Royal Court, Batiste pleased guilty to the attempted robbery and was sentenced to four years in prison.
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Brave? Putting your life at risk for someone else’s money? No I wouldn’t have said ‘brave’… I’m also concerned that the police would condone this behaviour and not lecture Miss Dorrity on ensuring that she puts her safety first!
Luckily (and I say luckily) this all ended well, however, this could have gone another way for the sake of what? A few hundred at most? The shop would have been insured (or should be insured!) so it was really an unnecessarily HIGH risk for the shop assistant.
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Well done Gemma
The full story states that one of the main legs of mitigation was that Batiste was so high on drink and drugs that he did not even remember doing the dirty deed
Read on a bit and it turns out that he had gone straight home and told his mother what he had done! You couldn’t make it up ! .. Oh yes you could if you’re a defence Advocate … they must have their fingers permanently crossed as they address the Court
Well done too to Mrs B for turning him in.He’ll thank her in later life if it helps him go straight
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Very brave girl well done, maybe she could give some lessons to the local police.
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Oh be quiet Lynnie! Well done to this girl. She used her brain to assess the threat and decided that they guy was a chancer and wouldn’t do anything and acted accordingly.
She didn’t have a big hystrical knee jerk reaction just calmly reacted to the situation. I’d guess you’d have a panic attack if you were in her shoes eh Lynnie.
Well done Gemma, there needs to be more people with half a brain in our society, you can have a job at my place anytime.
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i know the lad and he was troubled teen and he has had a hard life but he was silly for what he did and none knows that full story which i do and im glad that gemma is ok and i am not sticking up for him but i know gemma would not of been hurt. guernsey needs to stop all the drugs on the street and maybe half of the crimes will stop.
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hey my name is Blake, im Gemmas boy friend and im also the person who stood next to gemma when the event happened.And to lynnie comment you say it isnt brave becuase she put her self at high risk. however she reliased what was going on and relised this guy wasnt going to do anything and reacted in calm manner. Your saying that she should have just given him the money and let him think that it was ok to go around with knife and stealing from shops.
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I have a friend who stood up to a mugger whilst working in a forecourt and has now got the scars across his face to prove it. I also happen to do training in this area and the most important point I put across is not to put your safety in jeopardy for the sake of the company’s money. That’s what insurance is for.
It’s not about panicking and handing over the cash it’s about keeping the situation as calm as you can and if that means handing over what they’re asking for then that’s what should be done.
I am glad that Gemma is ok and that this situation didn’t escalate, however, I think the Police would have done well to have given a word of warning to others who may be in a similar situation in the future as well as congratulating Gemma.
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Thank you for all your kind comments about this.
I am proud of my action, and I do have advice to go to anyone else in my position.
I am generally a level headed person and I was able to way up the situation in this case. As there were people in my shop, to have screamed or set off alarms would have only put myself and them in danger, in situations like these you should never alarm the armed person because they may do something in the fear in this case stabbed someone.
Therefore I decided the best course of action was the following:
Firstly I denied the money and told him to leave, if someone did give the assailant the money this is not an act of cowardice, as stated in previous comments this is a safe action and no one should be frowned upon for it. Were it bravery or just stubbornness I personally do not believe people should be able to get their way purely by wielding weapons.
Secondly I tried to reason with the assailant, telling him I couldn’t give him the money as I did not have the key amongst other tall tales to try and rid of him, as obviously I could have done.
Thirdly I gave the assailant a way out, I told him ‘If you go now I might not call the Police’ to his reply of ‘well you’ll call them as soon as I’ve gone’ I replied ‘It’s your choice mate’ to which he ran from my shop.
I immediately went to my shop door locked it, and as I turned my boyfriend Blake was already on the phone to the police. (Of course we had to phone the police this man was obviously not in the right frame of mind and in the state and situation he was a danger to himself as well as others).
I was Lucky, but I strongly believe we should not allow armed assailants to get their way as this is not just and would only lead to more assailants trying their luck and sooner or later the luck will run out and someone will be hurt either way.
I can only thank his mother for her report and my friends and family, who rushed to the scene, as obviously I was in a slight state of shock following and they were there for me.
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Ah now it becomes clear. Lynnie trains people, so has a vested interest in people doing what they’re told, not being able to use their initiative and think for themselves.
You’d be better off teaching these people how to handle a baseball bat efficiently if you ask me. These muppets think they can wander in and rob any place they like precisely because of people like you telling shop staff to just hand over the dosh no questions asked.
If more people stood up to them there would be less of it.
Out of interest Lynnie, do you get a back hander from Insurance companies who are able to whack up their business insurance premiums for everyone simply because you go around telling staff to hand over money to anyone who wants it?
You talk about insurance as though it’s a free pot of money anyone can dip into!
Blake, well done, and tell Gemma she should be very proud of the way she reacted. Saiko is not my sort of place but I’m far more likely to wonder in because of this story so she’s even got her boss some more custom as a result her her actions.
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Gotta agree with Lynnie on this one in terms of police responsibility. Also the story omits the point that you were there Blake, obviously then the guy was outnumbered and was probably not much of a threat. We probably would have all done the same in that situation. The way it’s been reported it sounds like the guy came in brandishing his knife, Gemma heroically jumped over the counter, tackled him to the ground, threw in some kung-fu moves, wrestled the knife away and threw in some witty quips along the way ;-) From the sounds of the other posters it sounds like this guy was off his face on drugs/drunk staggered in mumbled something about money waving a pocket or bread knife around, Gemma said ‘on yer bike mate’. He shambled off and she called the police. Not saying anything detrimental of Gemma here, obviously she kept her cool and acted responsibly. What about if it was a gun though? Would she have still acted the same way? By what everyone is saying here she would have, however, I doubt that very much I also doubt that the police wouldn’t then give a warning. Funny really considering knife crime is much more prevalent.
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Gemma – my apologies for my first post it probably wasn’t written in the best way! Your post makes it quite clear that you acted calmly and in your best judgement. I just think that perhaps the police should have added a line or two to the report for people in a similar situation in the future, as you yourself have done.
The Truth – I’m not interested in arguing with you so go ahead and post your contentious drivel I won’t be answering your antagonistic questions.
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Lynnie
Your second post partly redeems your very poor first one, but I agree with The Truth who has spotted your obvious vested interests.
Gemma
Well done, you seem to have a good common sense attitude towards things
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That’s a shame Lynnie, do you also do a course on avoiding the questions of people who disagree with you?
Gemma you are a credit to the often derided youth of today.
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Lynnie “I just think that perhaps the police should have added a line or two to the report for people in a similar situation in the future”
I took the liberty of translating this for you.
“I just think that perhaps the police should have added a line or two to the report that better fits in with my business model……..”
What actually IS your job Lynnie? Why are you so keen for my insurance premiums to go up by suggesting that staff hand over the contents of their tills in the first instance without actually weighing up the situation and using their own initiative?
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gemma fair play i know kelvin wouldnt of hurt u but dont be thankful to his mum ok. i hope this will help kelvin get off the crap he is on and get him back to his old self. he would do anything for his family and family like i said ealier he has had alot of problems and i know he is sorry for what he did.
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Gemma;
You are a very brave girl.
That said, you acted instinctively in a nasty situation, and you won.
Whatever any may say; you can go through life with head held high, not for your deed,for it goes without further to do your act was brave.but as a young person who knew right from wrong.
Bless you Gemma… for I know what it’s all about, in such circumstances
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The Truth – I’ll happily answer any questions you may have that relate to the debate but won’t enter into a slanging match with you.
Eggy bread – No need to translate, I meant what I originally posted. I’ve worked in HR and Training for a number of years having worked across UK and CI in retail and other commercial fields. I’m employed not self employed.
I agree my original post was poorly worded, however, my opinion still stands.
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Gemma, well done for standing up for what is right. I hope that as an adult I would do the same. Anyone making snide comments at you should be ashamed. I hope the owner of Saiko gives you a raise, you deserve it!
Lynnie – your attitude sums up what appears to be the problem with society in general. Don’t take chances, don’t stand up for yourself or others, don’t take responsibility for anything – rather like those people who stood by and let that man drown in a lake because of “health and safety issues”.
Well done Gemma.
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You’re alright Lynnie, I’m bored of you now.
Besides, people seem to be agreeing with me, which is both unusual and deflating, and have made my points for me.
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Lynnie – “I’ve worked in HR and Training for a number of years having worked across UK and CI in retail and other commercial fields. I’m employed not self employed.”
Says it all, with a cosy office job for a large company (shops in Mill Street don’t normally have HR departments in my experience……..) and hence little contact with the real world outside it’s pretty easy to advise how other people should act and hand over their employers hard earned cash. Maybe if you were self-employed you’d have a different view on this subject?
Anyway time to leave this topic alone as everybody seems to be in agreement but you. I’m back here because I forgot to say in my first post “well done Gemma” so I’ll say it now.
WELL DONE GEMMA!
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Gemma , you quite rightly deserve the praise you are getting , Congratulations :)
The Truth – as a mere mortal , i.e an employee and not an employer and having worked for 3 of the larger names in retail here in Guernsey over my time, all 3 of those have all said “hand over the cash” if confronted and not to put yourself in any danger, the loss of a days takings are easier to recover through the business insurance policy than a massive payout to an assistant for injury and possibly death.
HOWEVER I partly agree with you, It has to be a case of having the brains to size up the situation at the time, If I was in the same situation it would have to an action based on immediate instinct … Thankfully Gemma is very clever young lady but there are a lot of people who would not have been quick in thoughts.
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Lynnie – I have a lot of respect for your postings in general (don’t always agree, but who does!) and there’s no doubt you know your stuff when it comes to legislation, so called “best practice” and regulation.
I wouldn’t have blamed Gemma for playing this out “by the book” as you suggested – I may well have done in similar circumstances. I can’t help but agree with some of the other posters here though.
What Gemma did is similar to that granny on the UK news recently who stood up to a gang of robbers. She refused to stand by and let people get away with it.
Yes there are times when it’s probably best to stand aside, but those who don’t should be commended not criticised for their actions. I can’t help but think of that old phrase “all it takes for evil to triumph is for the good to do nothing.”
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Well done Gemma, bet you could not understand what had just happened.
Well done. You should be proud
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PLP – Well you win some you lose some ;) I did apologise for my original post, it was poorly worded and it does sound like Gemma made a sound judgement. My subsequent posts made reference to perhaps the police could have added a “please use your best judgement but remember to put your safety first” especially over a day’s takings. I can’t say that I would never put my life in jeopardy for some situations but I probably wouldn’t do so over someone else’s money. That being said I commend Gemma for her sound judgement and control of the situation.
Eggy bread – my office is far from cosy and I’m not office bound either. I’ve also been on the ‘front lines’ so to speak which I think is quite important for a support role as you know how to best support your managers.
I think I’ve said all I wanted to on this matter, none of us are ‘right’ it’s just my opinion that’s all. However, perhaps we can actually discuss the issue at hand rather than mud sling at other points that have nothing to do with the matter being discussed.
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Well done Gemma, you sound like a really brave and level headed girl. Last year I was in a very similar situation to you, confronted at my place of work by two armed drug addicts. Myself and my colleague asked them to leave, they refused and became very aggressive, leaving us with no option but to call the police. They finally lost their nerve when they saw the blue flashing lights. It can be impossible to reason with people on hard drugs. But good on you for standing up for what is right!
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wow. gemma – this will sound patronising, but you are in the wrong job. get thee hence to be a policewoman or any job where confidence, strategy, arbitration and non-judgement are called for. (or did you just wing it?!) seriously, well done – we need little demonstrations like this to keep us all believing.
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Well done Gemma.
Personally, I’m glad I live in a place where people think that the right thing to do in that situation is to stand up to the person.
I really don’t want to be living in a culture where the prevailing attitude is that you shrug, avoid all risk, and pay out through insurance.
I’d like to live surrounded with more people like Gemma, and fewer like Lynnie.
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Lynnie:
I actually agree with you on the basis of the news report, although Gemma’s post is enlightening and provides a clearer description of her thought process.
What is surprising is this from The Truth: “She used her brain to assess the threat and decided that they guy was a chancer and wouldn’t do anything and acted accordingly.” How niaive.
I was a police officer for many, many years and was trained over and over and over again in dealing with these types of incidents. One simply cannot “assess the threat and decide that they guy was a chancer and wouldn’t do anything”. When dealing with people like this we cannot make that type of assessment since our brains are working differently in the circumstances. For The Truth to make the comment he/she has, simply shows that many people in the world have not had experience in dealing with emotionally and mentally disturbed people. Therefore, the press would have done well to use words other than “stood up to him” as this presents a whole different image to the one Gemma has very sensibly conveyed on this forum.
Finally, well done Gemma – it sounds like you used common sense and natural ability to bring this to a close. You are a credit to yourself.
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Well done Gem-Gem. So proud of you! I deal with threatening behaviour on a daily basis and you did the right thing. Most people will deflate quite quickly when challenged – they are relying on you being too scared and intimidated to do anything else.
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Ali
Are you a deputy :)
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I have to agree with Lynnie on this one.
If a Saturday lad had done the same thing it would have been a disaster. Gemma credit to you but please don’t do it again.
it’s o.k for folks who do not deal with the general public to say what should have been done but try it folks, try dealing with a drunk,aggresive,armed “customer” it’s not pretty and remember you may well call the police who will come promptly but in in the meantime you will still be dealing with a “loony”
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What a Gem !
Well done Gemma !
I can not say anything because nothing I say can match your bravery and your skill in handling the situation.
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