by Lee McGuire / 11News -- Inside the City Council chamber

Following a rash of violent robberies and shootings, the Houston City Council has passed a series of ordinances aimed at cutting convenience store crime.

The City has been working with convenience store owners for nearly a year and a half to come up with the requirements. Among them, convenience store owners will need to register with the Houston Police Department and post a registration decal inside the store.

Here are some of the other new rules:
-Owners must provide annual safety training to all employees;
-Post "no trespassing" and "no loitering" signs on the property, which would allow police to remove vagrant people from parking lots and corners;
-Post height strips at exits, which help employees accurately describe suspects after a hold-up;
-Install silent panic and holdup alarms;
-Install a drop safe, which prevents easy access to large amounts of cash;
-Maintain a color, digital surveillance system. Currently many surveillance systems, if they exist at all, are outdated and of poor quality.

Failure to comply with the new rules is a class C misdemeanor, which would lead to a $500 fine. They take effect in one month.

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