If you ask bankers what they think of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s decision to pull back on bank robbery and other criminal investigations to focus more on fighting terrorism, what you hear is pure patriotism.
There is no mention that bank robberies, larcenies and burglaries have risen nationwide over the past few years to an estimated 8,259 incidents in 2001–including 153 bank robberies in the Chicago area.
Although bankers say they support the FBI’s decision, at the same time they expect enough continued help to catch the bad guys.
“It’s simply a reflection of the times that a higher priority for the nation is to fight the war on terrorism,” said Bob Wingert, president of the Community Bankers Association of Illinois. “It’s going to require all the resources our country can bring to the fore, and sacrifices have been made, and this is one of them.”
Wingert and others said they are sure the FBI will remain involved in robberies done by organized networks–the ones that take more money, rob from numerous banks and work across several states.
“The FBI is still going to be a vital factor in solving bank robberies that are well planned,” said Arvin Clar, a Cleveland detective and a security consultant for Cleveland-based Charter One Financial Inc., which has a large Chicago-area presence.
“You’re never going to stop the immediate gratification of a spontaneous criminal. … Those crimes will always be around, and local law enforcement will have to deal with them,” Clar said.
David Creel, a spokesman for TCF Bank in Illinois, said local authorities play a major role in catching many bank robbers. A recent robbery at the bank’s Homewood branch, in which an employee was held hostage, was handled almost entirely by the Homewood Police Department, he said, “although the FBI is always involved.”
The American Bankers Association in Washington, D.C., seems more tentative about the FBI’s future involvement in bank robberies.
“The banking industry understands the FBI’s need to reorganize and is fully supportive of any efforts to combat terrorism. We hope that FBI officials will continue to provide adequate resources for bank robbery investigations,” a spokeswoman said.
No decisions have been announced about how much the FBI will trim its efforts to solve bank robbery cases.
But Mary Lynn Muha, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Chicago field office, said, “We’re not really getting out of the bank robbery business. We’re waiting for a decision from headquarters on resources.”
About 80 percent of the Chicago area’s bank robberies are solved, although it can take time, Muha said.
“When you catch one guy, you clean up a whole bunch of bank robberies,” she said. “Usually a bank robber is responsible for more than one.”
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Bank One also said last week that it is working with Visa and the Walt Disney Co. to launch a Disney card in 2003 that will allow cardholders to accrue points for Disney vacations and products.