Bank robbery

Definition: Theft of money from banking institutions

Significance: The crime of bank robbery and notorious bank robbers have often been glamorized in the media, but bank robbery is frequently violent and most robbers are captured quickly.

Of all the criminals who practice their craft in the United States, bank robbers have been the most glamorized. Books and movies have portrayed them as folk heroes. The public’s fascination with bank robberies has been linked to the negative view of banks and the robber’s arguments that they were only stealing from the rich. Despite the folk-hero status given to famous bank robbers, bank robbers are violent criminals who use threats or violence to steal money from banks and their customers. During the nineteenth century, some of the most famous bank-robbing gangs were also among the most murderous. These included the Dalton gang and Jesse James’s gang, who robbed banks in the Old West and were tracked down by locals.

Twentieth Century Bank Robbers

Some of the best-known bank robbers of the early twentieth century include Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who stole comparatively small sums of money and killed nearly a dozen people until they themselves were gunned down by law-enforcement officers in 1934. The popularity of bank robbers peaked during the Great Depression in the 1930s, when banks were known mainly for foreclosing on farmers and members of the middle class. For some people, bank robbers represented the oppressed striking back at the banks for taking people’s land. During that period, some of the most colorful bank robbers became heroes to the public but were nevertheless dangerous criminals. Their popularity can be seen in the catchy nicknames given to them, such as “Baby Face” Nelson, Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and George “Machine Gun” Kelly. This was also the era of John Dillinger, whose violent death was romanticized by the media.

During the 1940s one of the most celebrated bank robbers was Willie Sutton, who is credited with the famous line that he robbed banks because “that was where the money was.” Sutton used his acting skills and ability to create disguises to gain entry into banks, usually before they opened. He dressed as postal employees, government workers, and even a police officer. He also changed his hairstyle, facial appearance, and accent to confuse bank employees. Throughout his criminal career, Sutton held a regular job, under an assumed name. He was different from his 1930s predecessors in that his robberies were nonviolent; no one was ever killed or injured during one of his heists.

During the mid-twentieth century, bank robbers and their crimes became more notorious because of the role of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in tracking and attempting to arrest them. J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, used his ten-most-wanted list to call attention to notorious bank robbers and get the public involved in their capture. Every famous bank robber of that era was eventually captured or killed. Their demise brought the end of what might be called the golden era of bank heists.

Modern Bank Heists

After the 1940s, bank heists became more difficult as banks enhanced their security. The federal government’s involvement in tracking and arresting bank robbers made the crime ever more dangerous for robbers. Bank robbers responded by changing their tactics. Their new techniques included taking bank employees hostage in their own homes and then forcing them to open their banks during off-hours. In the late twentieth century, the advent of electronic banking over telephone lines and the Internet opened another avenue for heists. Instead of carrying guns or charging into banks and demanding money, the new breed of bank robbers resembled embezzlers, siphoning funds out of banks without anyone noticing the money was gone until it was too late. When the robbers hid their tracks, the banks might not even know they were robbed until after the robbers were safely away. However, after a series of such robberies, banks and law enforcement became wiser and started using computer technology against the robbers and making heists more difficult.

Meanwhile, as the FBI improved at tracking down robbers and banks improved methods of preventing robberies, the number of bank robberies in the United States declined during the 1980s and 1990s. However, one of the most dangerous and daring heists occurred in February, 1997, when two men robbed a Bank of America branch in Southern California. When the robbers were confronted by dozens of police, they initiated what became a running gun battle. Outfitted with protective body armor, the robbers withstood direct hits while blasting away with even greater firepower than that used by the police. Both men were eventually killed, but the incident left law-enforcement officials across the nation afraid that future bank heists would be performed by similarly dangerous robbers who could outshoot police and thus escape with the money.

Types of Banks Heists

Bank robberies are committed by both amateur and professional criminals and came be either well-planned heists or spur-of-the-moment robberies. The motive behind virtually all bank heists is to obtain money; however, the uses to which the money is put differ from robbery to robbery. For example, amateurs sometimes rob banks to pay their outstanding household bills. Professionals may also rob banks to pay their bills, but many steal from banks in order to live luxurious lifestyles they could not otherwise afford. Some rob banks to advance political causes.

Amateurs and professionals typically differ in their approaches to their heists. Many amateurs conduct their robberies peacefully, with the use of weapons; their crimes are usually isolated events, in which the robbers are concerned mostly with escaping with their money as quickly as possible. By contrast, professionals generally concentrate on obtaining as much money as possible, and their crimes are usually part of strings of heists using the same methods. Bank heists conducted for political purposes tend to be the most violent, as they usually involve weapons and robbers who are willing to kill to get the money they seek.

Robbers who work alone typically initiate their robberies by handing notes to tellers that demand money. This approach tends to be quick and nonviolent but yields small returns for the robbers. Professional robbers often seize control of the banks and use weapons to compel bank employees to hand over money. While this form of robbery generally produces larger takes, it is also more likely to end in violence, particularly when bank employees or customers do not follow the robbers’ instructions perfectly.

Bank robbers sometimes employ diversions that help them to escape. For example, some robbers telephone police to report false bombs threats in other locations. As police rush to those locations to investigate the threats, the robbers complete their bank heists and escape before police can redirect their efforts from the fake crimes to the real ones. Some bank robbers take advantage of visits by high-ranking dignitaries to cities. Such visits often tie up the protective services of local police, giving bank robbers opportunities to commit their crimes when police response is likely to be delayed. Sometimes, however, the robbers outsmart themselves. For example, a gang of robbers once cleverly timed their heist to take advantage of a visit of the president of the United States to Chicago. However, they made the mistake of hitting a bank located next to the building in which the president was speaking, thus bringing down on themselves large numbers of both local police and Secret Service agents.

Prevention and Investigation

During the 1990s, the FBI and other law-enforcement agencies were able to concentrate many of their resources on crimes such as bank robbery. However, after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, many law-enforcement resources have been diverted to investigating suspected terrorists. Apparently, for this reason, after 2001, bank robberies were again on the rise.

Banks and law enforcement work together to develop new techniques and technologies to prevent bank robberies or make it easier to capture and prosecute bank robbers. One of the first defenses against robberies was the development of armored bank vaults, which federal law now requires banks to use to prevent criminals who break into banks after hours from gaining access to the money and other valuables. Modern vaults are protected by several feet of concrete or steel. The difficulty of penetrating vaults moves most robbers to rob banks when they are open for business—which is a much more hazardous undertaking for the thieves.

Another early defense against bank robberies was the use of armed guards; however, they generally proved ineffective, so banks shifted their protective efforts to improved technology. Bank-prevention devices include alarm systems, video cameras for surveillance, tracking devices, and automatically locking entry and exit doors. Some of these devices are used to prevent robberies, while others aid police in tracking down thieves who succeed in getting away with the banks’ money.

All bank tellers have switches to silent alarm systems within their reach. The alarms are hidden from bank robbers but can be easily activated by employees. Once activated, the alarms alert police that robberies are in progress and give them a head start in tracking robbers as the latter leave the scenes of their crimes. At the same time, trained tellers try to delay handing over money to give the police more time to arrive on the scene. When police do not arrive while robberies are in progress, banks have the means of identifying the robbers using security cameras. Such cameras take pictures of robbers’ faces, but professional thieves generally wear masks or wide-brimmed hats to obscure their faces. Some banks have taken to using closed-circuit cameras that send their pictures directly to police stations, alerting them of robberies in progress and allowing trained police to witness the crimes and the robbers.

Banks also use tracking devices, the best known of which are dye packs. When tellers load money into bags for robbers, they try to insert dye packs that are designed explode after they leave the banks. The explosions spread brightly colored dyes over both the stolen money and the robbers, making apprehension and identification easier. Banks also try to insert sophisticated tracking devices among stolen money. These devices emit signals that police can use to track down the robbers. Part of the stolen money itself can also serve as a tracking device. Banks provide tellers with packs of marked money whose serial numbers are recorded. When thieves take the marked money, police distribute the serial numbers to local businesses, which contact the police when the stolen bills are used at the business.

Some banks have special entrances with devices that detect firearms. When the devices sense guns, they automatically lock the banks’ inner doors, preventing persons with guns from entering.

Most of these defenses require the quick thinking and action of bank employees. Banks utilize training sessions including fake robberies carried out by the police. These teach employees how to handle bank robberies without getting themselves killed or injured, while increasing the changes of catching the thieves. When robbers are not immediately captured, the police use wanted posters, television programs, and the Internet to solicit public help in identifying and locating the suspects.

Bank robbers are occasionally successful at stealing large amounts of money and escaping. When that happens, law-enforcement agencies generally must wait for the robbers to perform additional crimes. The more robberies that criminals commit, the more likely it is that they will make mistakes and be captured.

Investigation

During the nineteenth century, bank robberies were purely local concerns, as no federal law-enforcement agencies were designed to combat such crimes. As the numbers of bank robberies increased, the federal government became involved indirectly. For example, a 1919 federal law made it a crime to drive getaway cars across state lines. When bank robbers broke this law during their escapes, the federal government was authorized to become involved. The rise in crime during the 1920s and early 1930s prompted Congress to consider making bank robbery a federal offense. Finally, in 1934, Congress enacted a law making bank robbery a federal crime, and it gave the FBI primary responsibility for tracking down bank robbers.

While local police are the first on the scene at bank robberies and frequently capture bank robbers, the federal government is responsible for prosecuting them. Bank robbery is a serious felony under federal law. Robbers who perform heists at several banks, steal tens of thousands of dollars, or use or threaten to use weapons can be incarcerated for more than ten years. The more additions to the crime, the longer the punishment.

Bibliography

Clark, Jerry, and Ed Palattella. A History of Heists: Bank Robbery in America. Lanham: Rowman, 2015. Print.

De Simone, Donald. I Rob Banks, That’s Where the Money Is. New York: SPI, 1992. Print.

Kirchner, L. R. Robbing Banks: An American History 1839-1999. New York: Da Capo, 2000. Print.

Manaugh, Geoff. A Burglar's Guide to the City. New York: FSG, 2016. Print.

Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Robberies, Heists and Capers. New York: Checkmark, 2002. Print.

Pinkerton, Allan. Banks: Robbers and the Detectives. New York: Fredonia, 2002. Print.

Rehder, William J., and Gordon Dillow. Where the Money Is: True Tales from the Bank Robbery Capital of the World. New York: Norton, 2003. Print.

Swierczynski, Duane. This Here’s a Stick Up: The Big Bad Book of American Bank Robbery. Indianapolis: Alpha, 2003. Print.