Bank robberies fall 90pc as new security outsmarts thieves

It could be end of the swag bag and black and white stripey top. 

Bank robberies, the mainstay of Hollywood thrillers and adventure books, have fallen by 90pc in the last 20 years as security shutters, cameras and dye triggers on stolen money flummox even the most die-hard thief...

The number of robberies at UK high street lenders fell from 847 in 1992 to just 66 in 2011, according to the British Bankers Association (BBA). Improvements in staff training, more CCTV cameras, and shutters which fly closed in less than a second are credited with the rapid decline.

“Banks are working hard to confine armed robberies to the world of TV dramas,” said Anthony Browne, chief executive of the BBA. “Being caught up in a bank job is a terrifying ordeal for staff and customers that can scar lives for decades. It’s great to see that the number of these crimes have fallen sharply in recent years.”

The BBA said branches now hold less cash and use time-delay safes to ensure staff are limited in the amount of money they can access. “Banks will continue to work closely with each other, post offices and the police to make such raids a thing of the past,” said Mr Browne.

Robberies over the past 20 years have ranged from the audacious to the farcical.

In one of the most spectacular heists in recent history, armed raiders stole £26.5m from the vaults at the headquarters of Belfast’s Northern Bank in 2004, after holding two men and their families at gunpoint. The case remains unsolved.

However, robberies don’t always go to plan. One man's attempt to rob a building society a few years ago was thwarted when the cashier activated high-speed shutters. The man, who believed he was trapped inside the branch, tried to ram his way out. However, his bungled attempt was made worse when a pensioner walked into the branch, demonstrating that he simply had to pull the door to get out.

More recent bank heists highlight lenders’ increasing exposure to cyber fraud. In September, police charged four men in London with attempting to rob a branch of Santander by taking control of its computer systems.

Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financial-crime/10538081/Bank-robberies-fall-90pc-as-new-security-outsmarts-thieves.html