Bank Robbery

Summary of Responses to Bank Robbery

The table below summarizes the responses to bank robbery, the mechanisms by which they are intended to work, the conditions under which they ought to work best, and some factors that should be considered before a particular response is implemented. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. Remember, in most cases an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses because law enforcement alone is seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.

#	Response	How It Works	Works Best If…	Considerations
General Requirements for an Effective Strategy
1	Enlisting support of banks	Establishes joint ownership of the problem	... changes in management are needed	Recommendations lack the force of law
2	Adopting a multijurisdictional approach	Provides sufficient data to focus resources where most needed	…there are too few robberies within a single jurisdiction to suggest changes	Encourages cooperation between banks, police, and the FBI
3	Focusing on high risk branches	Identifies high risk locations	... branches are cooperative in addressing risks	Combines prevention and detection; cost-effective; targets high risk locations; may be expensive
4	Focusing on specific types of bank robbery	Employs specific preventive strategies	…specific types of robbery can be identified	Most likely to produce tangible results
Reducing Rewards
#	Response	How It Works	Works Best If…	Considerations
5	Limiting access to cash	Reduces rewards	…bank policies are routinely followed	Inconvenient for employees; compliance must be monitored; unlikely to discourage robbers with low expectations
6	Using tear gas or dye packs	Robbers often drop cash upon activation; dyed money is difficult to use	…employees include packs in stolen money	Gas and dye packs are already widely used
Increasing Perceptions of Risk
#	Response	How It Works	Works Best If…	Considerations
7	Slowing the pace of the robbery	Increases perceptions of risk	…robbers are unarmed	May reduce successful robberies, or reduce amount of loss, but may increase violence; inexpensive; can be tailored to the situation
8	Banning disguises	Deters opportunistic offenders	…robbers are solitary offenders; robberies are not planned	Difficult to enforce in cold weather
9	Employing greeters	Deters opportunistic offenders	…robbers are solitary note passers	May be useful as a short-term solution at specific times and locations
10	Hiring guards	Increases risk of apprehension	…guards are highly visible	Expensive; may increase violence; alters bank environment
11	Warning likely offenders	Increases perception of risk	…robbers are local	Low cost strategy
Increase Likelihood of Apprehension
12	Using tracking devices	Increases risk of apprehension	…offenders are aware of devices but cannot easily defeat them	Can be used in high risk locations; conserves police resources; employees must include devices
13	Using bait money	Increases risk of apprehension	…tellers include bait in money	Bait money is already widely used
14	Offering rewards	Increases risk of apprehension	…offenders are local	Publicity may have a deterrent effect on other would-be robbers
15	Upgrading electronic surveillance	Increases risk of apprehension and perception of risk	…cameras are well positioned, visible, reliably activated, produce good quality images, and not easily disabled	Video surveillance is already widely used, but the quality could be improved; provides good investigative evidence but can be defeated with disguises; exterior surveillance can provide information about escape routes
16	Rapidly activating alarms	Increases risk of apprehension	…alarms are activated quickly	Alarms are widely used but must be activated quickly; quick response by police may trap robber inside bank, thus increasing the risk of violence
Increasing Difficulty of Offending
#	Response	How It Works	Works Best If…	Considerations
17	Installing bandit barriers	Stops robbers from using weapons	…robbers are armed	Protects employees but may increase risk to customers; can be installed in high risk locations; although unpleasant for customers, pop-up screens do not alter the environment
18	Limiting bank access	Blocks robbers	…customers become accustomed to the practice	Varied controls can be tailored to particular locales; can be installed in high risk locations; may affect bank environment and customers
19	Installing access control vestibules	Blocks armed robbers	…robbers are armed	Can be installed in high risk locations; expensive to install
20	Hardening targets	Increases difficulty	target vulnerabilities can be identified and altered	May be expensive or difficult to install; may inconvenience customers; often unnoticeable; can be tailored to individual properties
Responses With Limited Effectiveness
#	Response	How It Works	Works Best If…	Considerations
21	Increasing criminal sanctions			Offenders already face stiff penalties; stiffer penalties for gun use may have decreased armed robberies; general deterrent effect is weak
22	Limiting media coverage of bank robberies			No evidence that media coverage contributes to copycat robberies
23	Training employees to spot suspicious behavior			Difficult for employees to detect; few robbers case branches
24	Increasing police effort to deter and apprehend bank robbers			Little evidence that extra police presence is effective or efficient; does not affect future robbery risks; expensive

Contents & Links

The Problem of Bank Robbery
Factors Contributing to Bank Robbery
Understanding Your Local Problem
Responses to the Problem of Bank Robbery
Summary of Responses
Endnotes
References

Summary of Responses to Bank Robbery

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Contents & Links