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Lax Controls Can Cost You -- Big Time!

John Burnett, BOL Guru

Imagine, if you will, reporting to your directors on the loss of $250,000 cash in a bank robbery. That's right, a quarter of a million dollars.

Then consider the fact that FBI statistics for 2004 (the latest figures available) show that the average bank robbery resulted in a loss of under $4,500.

The management of a Lawrence, Indiana, credit union faced that prospect after a mid-June robbery by a lone gunman. The robber methodically cleaned out teller stations before heading for the credit union's vault, according to eyewitnesses, where the bulk of the "take" was grabbed.

The credit union's management did not comment on its security measures. However, it's apparent that any security that had been in place -- with the exception of video surveillance cameras -- had broken down.

Security officers reading this article should be ticking off in their minds the various cash controls that are built into their security policies and procedures. None of these is a "state secret," so listing some of the more obvious measures here won't compromise anyone's security:

  • Top drawer and overall teller cash limits set to balance operational and security needs
  • Minimal vault cash behind locked vault safe doors, subject to audited limit
  • Time-delay locks on balance of the branch's cash, with overall branch cash limit kept at minimum amount sufficient for cash needs

One can imagine those same security officers checking to find out the last time each branch was hit with a surprise cash security audit.

First published on BankersOnline.com 7/14/06

First published on 07/14/2006

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