Robberies Are Up, Robberies Are Down. Why Is Anyone's Guess

A recent Massachusetts bank robber did not require the latest anti-theft technology: computer chips in cash sacks that use global positioning satellite (GPS) sensors to track thieves right to their door. In a twisted, modern version of the Hansel and Gretel fairytale, the spaced-out thief obligingly trailed wrappers from the fist-full of hospitality candies he had also taken, all the way back home. The story, from Daniel Forte, chief executive of the Massachusetts Bankers Association, touches on several aspects of the debate on what causes and solves the problem of bank robbery. The thief in question was a drug addict--as are over half of bank robbers, says ABA's Associate Director of Public Relations, John Hall. Bill Wipprecht, a current member of ABA's Bank Robbery Deterrence Task Force concurs. "We won't solve the bank robbery problem until we solve the drug problem," says Wipprecht, chief security officer and senior vice-president of Wells Fargo & Co. So, it's assumed that bank robbery will be a fact of life, worsening and waning, a multi-faceted problem addressed by numerous partial solutions. Case in point: The Massachusetts bankers came up with no less than 24 anti-theft recommendations in mid-2002. They were drafted by a bank robbery working group formed because the association's existing anti-robbery program was not enough to quash an unexplained spike in robberies that began in 2001. The ABA also responded with an anti-robbery tool kit, which is available to members on a privacy protected portion of its website, www.aba.com. The Massachusetts bankers' policy of no headgear or sun glasses in branches has been adopted by other states, and its site, massmostwanted.org, has become a model for other states. Posting robbers' photos there has led to many more being caught. The New York Bankers Association also tackled the problem by improving bank/police liason, among other steps. It arranged for all of its members to immediately receive news of robberies from NYPD's Area Police Private Liaison (APPL) computer network. Customer monitoring via greeters and CCTV monitors also helps, the association noted. Back to our sweet-toothed thief, Marketing could argue, tongue-in-cheek, that he was caught precisely because of the welcoming touches they provided. Tension has always existed between the security forces, who would favor a fortress styled branch, and marketing people who increasingly try to foster the inviting image of a cafe. That was an undercurrent in the New York Police Department's unusual step in May 2003 of 'naming and shaming' that city's banks that had been particularly targeted during a swell of robberies early that year. The cry went up for mandatory bandit-barriers. However, as ABA's John Hall notes, bullet-proof glass is not going to prevent a robbery since tellers are trained to hand over the cash. The New York Bankers Association has since succeeded in defeating a state bill calling for barriers, arguing against what it called "a one-size fits all solution." Bullet-proof glass would have been an ironic response to robberies where typically no guns were used. …