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COLUMBIA, MO. -- A rash of robberies in Columbia has many business owners concerned about security.

In most cases, armed robbers enter businesses by walking through open doors.

Security companies offer several options where employees have the option of allowing entry to some customers while locking out others.

Owner and General Manager of Command Security and Sound Brian Marema recently sold several buzzer entry systems that allows employees to pick and choose who enters a business and who doesn’t.  Marema said these buzzers are common in bigger cities and are getting more common in Columbia.

Marema said, “We do a lot of camera systems where we are going back and reviewing footage of crimes after they have happened, but if you can keep the criminal outside of the door in first place.  That’s going to be the best way to do it.”

Columbia police officers said any security improvement is worth the money these days with the recent rash of robberies.

Since Wednesday, there have been 8 armed robberies in the Columbia area.  A total of 15 armed robberies for the month of September, so far.  I crunched the numbers and found there were 52 robberies this summer in Columbia and 29 of them were armed robberies.

Columbia police are currently looking for a man who they think robbed 7 businesses between Thursday and Saturday while wearing a bandanna.  Investigators think the bandanna robber is working alone.  Police would like more business owners to install buzzer entry systems, panic buttons and enclosed drawer systems.

Columbia police officer Latisha Stroer said, “At a gas station, the cashier is actually in an enclosure and then they transfer everything through a drawer system.”

While most robbers in Columbia getaway with cash, the bandanna robber always displayed a gun.

If you have any information about the recent robberies in Columbia, police urge you to call CrimeStoppers at 875-TIPS.