FBI Report: Bank Robberies Decrease

Bank robberies and other crimes against financial institutions have decreased slightly, according to the latest report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

There were 1,212 reported crimes against banking institutions in the third quarter of 2009, according to the FBI's bank crime statistics -- a decrease from 1,378 crimes reported for the same time period in 2008.

According to the FBI, there were 1,184 robberies and 28 burglaries reported between July 1 and September 30, 2009. No larcenies or extortions were reported in that time period as violations of the Federal Bank Robbery and Incidental Crimes Statue.

Report Highlights

Among the highlights of the latest FBI report:

Money was taken in 90 percent of the incidents, totaling more than $9.4 million.
Of the money taken, 22 percent of it was recovered. More than $2.2 million was returned to financial institutions.
Bank crimes most frequently occurred on Friday. Regardless of the day, the time frame when bank crimes occurred most frequently was between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
Acts of violence were committed in 5 percent of the incidents, resulting in 26 injuries, five deaths (perpetrators), and 32 persons being taken hostage.
The most common methods used were oral demands, closely followed by demand notes.
Most violations occurred in the southern region of the U.S., with 492 reported incidents.

Not all bank crimes are reported to the FBI, so these numbers don't reflect all bank crimes that happened. The complete report is available from the FBI.

To learn more about SafeCatch, the FBI's new approach to deterring bank robberies, see this recent interview with Special Agent Larry Carr.


About the Author

Linda McGlasson

Linda McGlasson

Managing Editor

Linda McGlasson is a seasoned writer and editor with 20 years of experience in writing for corporations, business publications and newspapers. She has worked in the Financial Services industry for more than 12 years. Most recently Linda headed information security awareness and training and the Computer Incident Response Team for Securities Industry Automation Corporation (SIAC), a subsidiary of the NYSE Group (NYX). As part of her role she developed infosec policy, developed new awareness testing and led the company's incident response team. In the last two years she's been involved with the Financial Services Information Sharing Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), editing its quarterly member newsletter and identifying speakers for member meetings.




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