Why So Many Bank Robberies ?
The large number of recent bank holdups in Knoxville is enough to worry anybody in the teller business. Customers’ deposits are federally insured, so they don’t lose anything. Sooner or later, someone working at a bank is going to get hurt during a holdup. The odds of that happening increase with each new stick-up.
Word has apparently leaked onto the street about which banks use dye packs and which ones don’t. Dye packs are explosive devices hidden in what is called “bait money” that a teller can stuff into a robber’s bag. I don’t exactly know their inner workings, except that the charge is timed to go off in a certain amount of time, allowing for the robber to be out of the bank when the explosive charge sends money flying, and dye all over the crook.
They are a sight to see sometimes. Once, I reported on a bank holdup where the dye pack went off inside a speeding car, sending purple bills all over the street in front of some very surprised pedestrians. One FBI man I knew says he caught a robber that had concealed his loot in an inside jacket pocket. When the dye pack went off, it burned the robber to his ribs.
I understand that dye packs are expensive. And I can imagine what would happen if one were accidentally armed inside a bank. But it seems to me that some financial institutions might have to make a corporate decision to take some active steps to deter holdups. That might include armed guards inside or outside of the bank.
One of the most effective deterents I have ever seen was the stake-out squad. Undercover or concealed officers would stay at a vulnerable location, and confront the robber once they were away from innocent people who might be in the line of fire. Nothing like TV news pictures of a dead robber with currency scattered all around his body to convey the thought that taking other people’s possessions might not be a good idea.
Maybe it’s desparate finances pushing the increase. But my best bet is that it’s the old problem of drug addiction. Or maybe plain-old greed.
Meanwhile, I think I will stick to direct deposit and the drive-thru.
The performance of a more profound point of view is best seen in the article.