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Bank Robbery - A National Problem

by Bill Wipprecht

Bill is Security Director of Wells Fargo Bank N.A. in California and a member of the ABA Security & Risk Management Committee. An expert on bank fraud and robbery, and a frequent contributor of articles to the BANKERS' HOTLINE, Bill is a knowledgeable teacher and lecturer on financial institution security. He is scheduled to do a major session on bank robbery at the BAI Security Conference in Dallas, March 30, 1993.

If I were a bleeding heart and unyielding optimist, it would be easy to blame the national increase in bank robberies on the economy. At least then I would have the satisfaction of knowing once the economy picked up the robbery problem would go away.

But economic conditions don't explain the new, violent breed of bank robbers who commandeer a branch, carelessly fire off shots to get everyone's attention, pistol whip a few customers or tellers, drag a couple of people around by the hair and force everybody to hit the floor face down. Even the historically passive note passer seems to be choosing to tote a gun these days.

Three Types Yesterday?
For many years we had three types of bank robbers: the unarmed lone bandit, the armed lone bandit and the armed robbery teams. Such criminals were motivated by a need for quick cash. Some were professionals who packed a gun, took time to case their target and kept on the move from town to town trying to stay one step ahead of the cops.

Today we have five primary >
Five Types Today
Robbery, by definition, is a violent crime. The immediate access to cash is the primary motivator. In fact, according to Lloyd Scott's "Robbery As Robbers See It," the amount of money available is more than twice as important as are active police patrols. It is three times as important as the number of clerks, cameras, alarms or video systems.

Financial institutions all have "immediate cash" and the industry's reputation is one where resistance is seldom offered.

The result is that robbing a bank, regardless of how much violence is employed, still offers very little risk to the bandit and well-paying rewards; often in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Virtually all of our financial institutions have further made things easier for robbers by extending banking hours into the evenings and Saturday. Some have increased teller cash limits, and on-hand vault cash in order to restock ATMs and utilize fewer tellers. Some institutions make use of more part time (read "lesser trained") tellers, and forever move toward a more "user friendly" customer service environment.

Oh, yes, and let us not forget that Federal law enforcement administrators have actually managed to decrease the number of bank robbery investigative units over the past five years.

All in all, these trends have made bank robbers' jobs even less risky than before.

The desperate, the down-and-out, and the street crazies robbing banks exist in greater numbers today than any time in recent history.

While a small percentage claim they need the cash to buy food, most appear to be street people with severe psychological disorders who have heard through the grapevine how easy banks are to rob. Very few laid off auto workers hit a branch to put food on the table for their families or to send their kids through college.

The Shadow
The habitual gambler is still around. Recently, the Los Angeles FBI arrested "The Shadow" bandit on the steps of a Laughlin, Nevada casino-putting an end to a ten year career in which he robbed more than 30 banks to support his betting pleasures.

However, the number one reason given by captured suspects for robbing a bank has been to support individual drug habits.Nationwide, law enforcement groups repeatedly declare that from 70% to 90% of all bank robbers are drug addicts.

The Mummy
In November of 1991 "The Mummy" bandit was arrested in Santa Ana, California after he had robbed 40 times in 12 months. He was initially named "The Mummy" after bank photos showed he customarily plastered his face with Band Aids during a heist to hide his identity.

FBI Special Agent James Donckels told the Los Angeles Times after "The Mummy" was caught, "His veins were so collapsed that he couldn't shoot in his arms anymore." The $1,000-a-day addict was further described as having, "?that all too familiar face of a strung out heroin addict. His bloodshot eyes were sunk deep into his skull, his cheeks were hollow and his mouth was half agape."

Certainly if this half-comatose shell of a human being finds bank robbery not much of a strain, then we may well deserve our street reputation as being an easy touch.

Drugs A Major Problem
The National Institute of Justice publishes the "Drug Use Forecasting Report" in June of each year. The report has repeatedly shown that among arrested drug addicts, both male and female, cocaine and/or its deadly derivative, crack, was the most frequently used substance.

The really bad news is that 73% of all males and 75% of all females arrested for robbery were under the influence of drugs or at least had drugs in their system at the time of apprehension. Anyone who has worked in law enforcement knows all too well how unpredictable and prone to violence addicts can be when a need for the next hit consumes them.

As Agent Donckels stated in the Times article, "For drug addicts, there are few other criminal enterprises that will support a $1,000 a day habit." Unfortunately for financial institutions, there are literally thousands of "Mummies" roaming the country.

The most recent phenomenon is the involvement of street gangs in the bank robbery business. Their entry into the field is not as much a new novelty as it is a return to the days when Jesse James and his desperadoes or the infamous Clayton Brothers gang would ride into a small town in Kansas with guns blazing. They would rob the bank and not hesitate to kill anyone who got in their way, including the Sheriff.

As of September, the Los Angeles FBI office recorded 290 takeover >
To make matters worse, we now have gangs using the same successful tools in bank robberies that they employed in drug wars and trafficking-juveniles!

These "baby face bandits" hitting banks in groups are young-14 to 16 year olds-recruited by older members to do the jobs and bring back the money for the gang kitty.

The risk to the kids is minimal as they end up in juvenile court if caught and seldom serve any real jail time.

Gangs Terrorize
If Los Angeles is encountering a gang bank robbery problem, your city probably will (or already has.) The scenario goes like this: four or five masked juveniles come running into a bank firing a couple of rounds into the ceiling for effect.

Yelling expletives and forcing everyone to get down on the floor, they terrorize both customers and employees, shooting them if they see it as necessary to maintain control.

They have been known to drag women by the hair into vaults, pistol whip tellers, physically assault anyone near them, and put loaded and cocked guns to people's heads. They've even been known to take time after the vault has been emptied to steal personal items from the customers and staff.

In mid-September this year an incident similar to the above took place in Downey, California. Two teens and a 45 year old man were arrested in the incident by police responding to the silent bank alarm. A fourth robber, a 15 year old juvenile, was killed during the heist after he opened fire on responding police units.

Whether their motive is the money, reputation, a required initiation rite or just for the thrill of it, a gang of 14 year olds with Uzies and an attitude can present more danger than the Clayton Brothers ever did.

For most bandits there is little or no pre-planning involved and drugs more often than not continue to play a motivational role.

The combination results in robbers who can be easily aggravated and volatile.

This means the way in which your financial institution is prepared for the robbery and the way you handle the robber may well determine if the incident results in violence.

In the third part of this series, we'll discuss ways to prevent robberies and ideas on how to reverse this national trend.

Copyright © 1992 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 3, No. 6, 11/92

First published on 11/01/1992

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