Switch placement should include platform positions, customer service desks and employee lounges; lounge doors should have a peephole and an alarm activation signal light.
Testing programs should be 1) routine (quarterly, if not more frequent), 2) documented in a log and, 3) involve all necessary parties – bank personnel, law enforcement, security contractors or guards.
Holdup alarm activation procedures and policies must be reviewed at least semiannually and more frequently while personnel are considered new.
Video integration can be accomplished with some new systems, which will allow transmission of the video images to your security console.
Cameras
Video cameras should be checked on an annual basis for: 1) focus, 2) field of view, 3) cleanliness, 4) glare, or 5) obscurations - such as plants, or notices.
Images produced by either videotape or digital video recorder (DVR) should also be evaluated on a semiannual basis.
Tool 2 ABA Bank Robbery Deterrence Toolbox
2-6 © 2003 AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION, Washington, D.C.
Video Tape: Use, Maintenance
All tapes should be clearly and consistently labeled.
Videotapes should be replaced annually to ensure quality images, and should not be used more than four times to maintain maximum image quality.
Tape retention averages from three to six months in general, and tapes provided for investigations should be immediately replaced in order to prevent over use of the remaining tapes.
Maintenance programs should be comprehensive and include periodic VCR recording head replacement.
These programs should include a periodic quality spot-check, as well as time synchronization to the strictest standards possible.
Immediately remove the record protect tab after a robbery to ensure preservation of the images.
Digital Video Recorders (DVRs)
There are both benefits and disadvantages with the use of DVRs.
Images can be sent immediately via Internet e-mail to law enforcement agencies.
Images can also be retrieved remotely by investigators at a centralized location.
Branch personnel are fully removed from laborious tape change and storage duties.
Speed, remote access and clarity of images are greatly improved over analog systems.
DVR systems are costly to install.
Some problems may exist in regard to evidentiary protocols, which have not been clearly defined by top law enforcement officials.
Images may be electronically altered thus corrupting an original image rendering it useless as evidence.
There may be case law developing which will allow DVR images to be transferred to CD to be used by prosecutors.
Dye Packs
The use of dye packs and their potential versus actual effectiveness is often debated.
Seek advice from institutions that do use them as well as those that do not.
Some municipalities do not allow gas to be used, only dye and smoke, check for local regulations and ordinances before implementation.
Styles and configurations of dye packs continue to evolve and vendors will happily present a full spectrum of options.
New “flex-packs” are quite authentic; however, savvy robbers often intimidate tellers by demanding no “exploding money”.
ABA Bank Robbery Deterrence Toolbox Tool 2
© 2003 AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION, Washington, D.C. 2-7
Locator Devices
There are electronic tracking systems on the market that use radio transmitters to help locate robbers. These devices typically use a radio triangulation system to pinpoint the suspect’s position.
These systems always require infrastructure using radio towers as well as cooperation from responding police, as the tracking devices must be installed in their vehicles.
These can be very effective in apprehending robbers, however, the set-up requires cooperation among financial institutions and some financial investment.
Bait / Decoy Money
Used by many institutions to assist in prosecuting bank robbers as providing significant evidence that the currency was stolen from the victim institution. This requires some maintenance including an updated record of the serial numbers and a regular change of currency straps.
Some institutions have opted for decoy money, which is not recorded and thus requires less maintenance. This security measure is intended more for loss reduction than for prosecution.
Intranet Sites
Internal Web sites can be set up to provide tremendous amounts of information very rapidly and inexpensively to your branch managers, once the Web site is established.
Branch security procedures, employee awareness, bank robber wanted posters, security alerts, and security personnel contact lists can be easily managed through Web page programs.
Reward Programs & Internet Sites
Various clearing-house associations and trade associations offer reward programs.
Many operate in conjunction with local or regional Web sites. Others prepare and distribute wanted posters to branches and are funded by the victim banks as a percentage of the individual losses they each experienced.
Many “crime stopper” organizations are willing to place bank robbers on their wanted poster campaigns. In these cases, the distribution is widespread and the rewards are much smaller, making them an effective yet inexpensive aid in apprehension.
Many state banking departments, state bankers associations and trade associations have excellent Web sites that offer a variety of information dealing with topics from ATM crime to elderly abuse to bank robbery prevention.
Tool 2 ABA Bank Robbery Deterrence Toolbox
2-8 © 2003 AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION, Washington, D.C.
ABA Bank Robbery Deterrence Toolbox Tool 2
© 2003 AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION, Washington, D.C. 2-9
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