Robberies Increase in Latest FBI Stats

It's time to put a strong emphasis on security and security-related training as the latest FBI statistics confirm what we suspected -- robberies are up. Bank robberies increased by approximately 3.5% in 2006 over the prior year to 6,948, according to a recently-released report from the FBI. The Bureau's statistics indicate robberies, burglaries, and larcenies from federally-insured banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, and armored car companies, plus bank extortion incidents, totaled 7,272 violations, up from 2005's 6,957.

In terms of who's perpetrating these crimes, think junkies and recidivists. Authorities have identified 3,483 of the 9,010 persons known to be involved in the 2006 bank robberies. Of these:

• 46% (1,614) were determined to be users of narcotics; and
• 22% (774) were found to have been previously convicted in either federal or state court for bank robbery, bank burglary, or bank larceny.

. Other highlights from the report:

• branch offices of metropolitan commercial banks were the most likely targets
• the highest number of holdups took place between 9 and 11 a.m. on Tuesdays
• Wednesday was the next most popular day for robberies, but the timeframe was typically between 11 and 1 o'clock
• Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m. were the next highest timeframe for bank heists.

Although firearms were involved 1,855 times (about one-fourth of the incidents), actual acts of violence occurred in only 4.5% of the incidents, resulting in 129 reported injuries. Thirteen deaths were involved, including ten of the felons. Only one of those killed was a bank employee.

In our related story this month, you'll see that 2007 bank robbery counts will unhappily reflect more bank employee fatalities.

FBI Crime Statistics
2006
2005

First published on BankersOnline.com 6/14/2007