"We Think About Quitting," Says Shop Owner Robbed Three Times in Six Months

08/26/2015 - 10h02

For Daiane Freitas, 28, one of the deciding factors for buying a perfumery in Osasco was the location: the busy avenue Presidente Costa e Silva should bring, in addition to more customers, security.

She acquired the shop in March 2014 and seven months later it was robbed for the first time.

The second robbery was in February this year. A month later, the shop's door was kicked in during the night.

"We're scared, we think about quitting," said Freitas. The security cameras were not enough to identify the thieves in any of the cases.

Opposite to the State of São Paulo and its capital, the Greater São Paulo registered a rise in robbery cases in the first seven months of this year.

According to figures released on Tuesday (25) by the Secretariat of Public Security, robberies have grown 3.4% between January and July this year compared with the same period last year.

Paulo Alves da Costa, 68, has an eyewear shop in the same avenue. He was stolen in four different locations of the Greater São Paulo throughout the 45 years he spent in the profession.

He has been in Osasco for 21 years. He had 18 peaceful years there. In 2012, however, two armed robbers entered his establishment and took six watch boxes that Costa had bought three days earlier for US$ 8,300 (R$ 30,000) to resell.

"If you close your shop in fear, what are you going to do? You have to work," he says.

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

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	Fabio Braga/Folhapress
	Diane Freitas acquired a perfumery in March 2014; the shop was robbed three times in a year