Predictable Time?

A serious bank robbery that happened just weeks ago, and an "off-site" one more recently, carry the warning to once again go over your currency delivery procedures.

In the first incident, 30 minutes after the Fed shipment of cash had been delivered to the bank, three men burst through the door, yelling and brandishing guns. They smacked one teller in the face, and rounded up nine employees and twelve customers and pushed them in the vault. They had walkie talkies on a police frequency and told the employees that if they called the police, they'd know it and would come back and "take care of them." They were in the branch seven minutes-cleaning out everything.

The manager was on the phone with a customer when the robbers came in. She dropped the phone and the customer heard most of what was going on and after it got quiet, he called the police.

The van that was used was found, and pictures are available, but the robbers have not been apprehended.In a different part of the country, in the second incident, an armored car was picking up cash from an off-site betting establishment. Just as the guards approached the back doors of the truck, carrying the cash, a car screeched up with four armed men who quickly overpowered the guards and emptied the armored truck. Again, we have pictures, but no identification or arrests.

The newspaper account of the second robbery had one very incriminating sentence. "According to a spokesman, the armored truck and guards arrive at the same time every Monday."

If someone was observing your office closely, could they predict when your Fed shipment will be? Is it predictable enough to be dangerous?

Check your procedures. There is a measure of protection in arranging staggered times for cash shipments. There has been an increase in this type of robbery. Try to prevent one from happening in your office.

Copyright © 1995 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 5, No. 11, 8/95