Summary of Responses to Robbery at ATMs
The table below summarizes the responses to robbery at automated teller machines, the mechanism by which they are intended to work, the conditions under which they ought to work best, and some factors you should consider before implementing a particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.
| General Considerations for an Effective Strategy | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 1 | Imposing mandatory minimum security standards | Requires financial institutions to adopt certain measures to prevent ATM robbery | …there are adequate resources to inspect ATMs for compliance and sanctions to enforce regulations | Must be sure local regulations are not preempted by state law; regulations should be specific enough to be effective without stifling potentially more effective innovations |
| 2 | Using civil liability | Concerns for civil liability encourage financial institutions to adopt measures to prevent ATM robbery | …state law governing civil liability is reasonably favorable to plaintiffs | Police typically play little role in civil actions |
| Altering Lighting, Landscaping and Location | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 3 | Ensuring adequate lighting at and around ATMs | Enables ATM users to see suspicious people, and potentially deters offenders | …a qualified lighting designer plans the lighting | Some jurisdictions have mandated minimum lighting standards, but most minimum standards do not address the full range of lighting factors that affect visibility |
| 4 | Ensuring the landscaping around ATMs allows for good visibility | Removes potential hiding places for offenders, enables ATM users to see suspicious people, and enables passersby to observe crimes in progress | …slow-growing shrubbery is planted and landscaping is regularly monitored and maintained | ATM operators must balance the desire to make ATM sites attractive through landscaping against security considerations |
| 5 | Installing mirrors on ATMs | Allows users to see suspicious people and behavior behind them | …mirrors are properly maintained and ATM users become accustomed to using them | Vulnerable to vandalism; robberies may occur too suddenly to allow victims to take any preventive action |
| 6 | Installing ATMs where there is a lot of natural surveillance | Increases the probability that witnesses will observe crimes in progress and assist victims, summon assistance or identify offenders; and deters offenders | …there is high traffic volume during times when the risk of robbery is high, and witnesses are willing and able to assist victims | Some locations with high traffic, such as street drug markets, do not provide reliable witnesses |
| 7 | Installing ATMs in police stations | Enables ATM users to obtain cash in a protected environment | …police stations can accommodate the increase in foot and vehicle traffic | May be feasible to operate ATMs in police stations only during nighttime hours, when other demands on the police are lower |
| Implementing Public Awareness and Education Initiatives | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 8 | Relocating, closing or limiting the hours of operation of ATMs at high-risk sites | Removes the opportunity for robbery in areas where or at times when the risk is high | …ATM operators can reliably establish area risk levels through close consultation with local police | A simple review of an area's total crime rate is inadequate to determine ATM robbery risks; viable alternatives for accessing ATMs should be available for people in high-risk areas |
| 9 | Providing ATM users with safety tips | Increases the liklihood that ATM users will avoid risky behavior that can lead to robbery | …safety tips are simple to understand, and communicated often and through various means to become part of ATM users' basic safety consciousness | ATM operators may be hesitant to call too much attention to robbery risks for fear of discouraging customers from using ATMs |
| Using Surveillance | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 10 | Installing and monitoring surveillance cameras at and around ATMs | Enhances the ability of police to identify offenders, and potentially deters offenders | …cameras surveil both the area immediately in front of the ATM screen and the area around the ATM, camera lenses are not exposed to direct sunlight, and cameras and recording mechanisms are routinely monitored and maintained | Dummy cameras should not be used except as a decoy to active cameras; cameras should be mounted high enough to discourage vandalism and be sturdy enough to withstand attempts to vandalize them |
| 11 | Installing devices to allow victims to summon police during a robbery | Enables robbery victims to summon assistance | …police have the resources to quickly respond to panic alarms | Some devices are vulnerable to vandalism; will likely increase the volume of false alarms to which police must respond; victims often lack the opportunity or ability to activate alarms during a robbery |
| 12 | Deploying private security guards at ATMs | Deters offenders and increases the likelihood that robberies will be observed and interrupted, or offenders will be identified | …security guards are stationed at high-risk locations | Costly for ATM operators |
| Targeting Offenders | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 13 | Controlling street drug markets | Potentially reduces the demand for drugs and, in turn, the demand for cash to purchase them; and incapacitates drug users who are likely to commit ATM robberies | …the link between local street drug markets and ATM robberies can be established | Requires a substantial commitment of police and other resources |
| 14 | Targeting repeat offenders | Incapacitates offenders who commit or are likely to commit the most ATM robberies | …the contribution of repeat offenders to local ATM robberies can be established, and established principles and methods of repeat offender programs are applied | Requires a substantial commitment of police and other criminal justice system resources; requires accurate and timely intelligence |
| 15 | Prohibiting loitering and panhandling near ATMs | Provides police authority to remove potential offenders from potential victims | …legislation is enacted, and police are willing and able to enforce the laws | Legislation must be carefully drafted to meet constitutional challenges; police are unlikely to be present just before a robbery |
| Hardening Targets and Denying Benefits | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 16 | Requiring that ATMs be located in enclosed vestibules with doors that locks | Makes it more difficult for offenders to surprise ATM users | …objects do not obstruct visibility into and out of vestibules, and door locks are regularly monitored and maintained | Added cost to ATM operators; ATM users habitually allow others to enter vestibules with them; door locks are often vandalized; some door locks can be opened with any magnetized plastic card; victims can become trapped with an offender in a vestibule; homeless people may use vestibules for shelter |
| 17 | Setting daily cash-withdrawal limits | Reduces the benefit to offenders, potentially reducing the likelihood they will incur the risk to obtain small amounts of cash | …offenders expect to get a lot of cash from a robbery, justifying the risk of apprehension | Especially around street drug markets where the demand for small amounts of cash is strong and immediate, offenders are unlikely to be deterred by small expected gains from robbery; ATM users must be willing to accept the cash withdrawal limits |
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Email: askCopsRC@usdoj.gov
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Robbery at Automated Teller Machines
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