I spent £18,000 on a security system in late 1994. I have a baseball bat and an official French police baton. One's a sporting implement and the other's a souvenir. If they were considered defensive, they're now a weapon.
While shopkeepers are constantly trying to defend what we have, if we attack an individual we're guilty of an offence. This is my shop, my life, my residence and there is nobody going to take it away from me.
You get particularly angry when these guys just come in and take stuff. We are actually serving from behind bars - be they physical bars or mental bars. When I lock up at night, I use more than 20 locks to lock myself into my own home.
Crime certainly has dropped. But a lot of guys simply won't bother reporting. If I get a robbery of less than £150, I can't claim it on the insurance and it's almost considered a petty crime.
They have changed the law in relation to syringe attacks and I've no doubt that security measures like mine are the reason that robberies have fallen.
While I'm not a violent person, I do react very badly to someone trying to rip me off. And there is no account taken of the stress or fear people are put into.
We've only had one syringe robbery. Unless you're literally sitting with armed guards, it tends to be "jump-overs" [the robber jumps over the counter]. They want something; they want it quick; they want it easy; and they don't want grief.
I'd normally be in here watching the video. Much of the time of guys like myself is spent doing security work. My insurance costs around £2,000 a year and it costs between £5,000 and £7,000 to maintain the security system.
Some 15 to 20 years ago, you'd be told: "You may be robbed." Now it's: "You will be robbed. How much it costs you or how much damage is done to you or your staff depends on yourself."
I personally will always report a robbery but if I lose £50, I'm never going to get it back. I go to court and spend half a day there. I'm never going to get that back. This is where the Garda get frustrated.
If you consider there are 1,500 to 1,600 newsagents, and if they're each spending £5,000 a year on security, that's money that could be going into creating jobs or even, God forbid, profit.