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federal reserve Ba n k o f D a lla s DALLAS. TEXAS 75222 C i r c u l a r No. 75-76 J u n e 12, 1975 BANK PROTECTION ACT TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EACH STATE MEMBER BANK IN THE ELEVENTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT: The Federal Bureau of Intestigatlon has reported to the Board of Governors of the Federal R eserve System the re su lts of recently compiled Fiscal Year 1974 statis tics on external crime against Federally insured and regulated financial institutions. For that period th e re w ere 2,817 ro b b e rie s , 359 b u r g la r i e s , and 309 larcenies for a total of 3,485 offenses. This compares with 2,600 ro b b e rie s , 360 b u r g la r i e s , and 212 larcenies for a total of 3,172 offenses in Fiscal Year 1973, an d is the highest y early total e v e r re c o rd e d . In addition, re p o rts for the first half of Fiscal Year 1975 indicate a fu rth e r large increase. In view of these record statistics, the J u stic e Department, among other step s , has sug g ested that regulations implementing the Bank Protection Act be con s id erably s tre n g th e n e d . The Federal R eserve s h a r e s the concern of the Justice De partment and believes that e v e ry reasonable effort should be made by banks to stre n g th e n th e ir s e c u rity systems for both the p u rp o s e of d e te rrin g crime as well as assistin g law enforcement officers in identifying and a p p re h en d in g perso ns who com mit such a c t s . In this connection, it has been directed to the Federal R ese rv e 's attention by the FBI, and th ro u g h periodic staff reviews of the "Report of Crime" (Form P—2) submitted by each State member bank when a crime is attempted or p e rp e tra te d , that deficiencies continue to be found in bank s ec u rity p ro g ram s. The most common d e ficiencies rep o rted a re d e s c rib e d as follows: 1) C a m e r a s . Surveillance cam eras a r e not installed in situations w h e re the need is evident. In cases w here they a r e installed, they frequently do not take useful pictures because of th e ir inadequacies or poor maintenance. Identifiable photographs of ro b b e rs a r e of tremendous value to the FBI and the police In a p p re h en d in g and convicting bank r o b b e rs . 2) "Bait" m o n e y . F req u ently , "bait" money is not provided for each teller or the identification of the c u r r e n c y is not completely r e corded ( i . e . , type of note, denomination, banks of issue, serial num ber, and s eries year) . Unless all of the indicated information This publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Historical Library (FedHistory@dal.frb.org) - 2 - is re c o rd e d , and the teller has personal knowledge of the contents, the "bait" money may have little or no value in later convicting the ro b b e rs . 3) A la rm s . Alarms a r e not tested or serviced periodically. Malfunctioning d u rin g crim es has been reported on numerous o c ca s io n s . 4) Maintenance of minimum teller c a s h . Nationwide statistics indi cate that the a v e ra g e loss thro ug h bank ro b b eries has been r e duced substantially since enactment of the Bank Protection Act regulations which re q u ir e banks to maintain t e lle r s 1 cash at a r e a sonable minimum. However, re p o rts from banks continue to be received indicating substantial losses resulting from failure of te llers to maintain a minimum volume of til I c a s h . 5) L a rc e n y . In almost all cases of larceny, the valuables stolen a re re p o rte d to have been exposed and not sufficiently attended, permitting easy access for the criminal. 6) T rain in g p r o g r a m s . Instances a r e re p o rte d w here the existence of an a p p ro p ria te and continual train in g program for tellers could have possibly re su lte d in substantial aid to law enforcement offi c e r s in a p p re h en sio n and conviction of crim inals. F req u e n tly , bank sec u rity officers who complete the "Report of Crime" su g g est improvements in protection equipment that could be made to help in p r e v e n t ing such crimes or improvements in employee train ing to better th e ir performance d u rin g future similar o c c u r re n c e s . It is reported in some of these instances that the bank plans no c o rre c tiv e action. Too often, unfortunately, it a p p e a rs that the s e c u r ity officer does not have the full s u p p ort of top management or operating p erso n n el. In view of the increase in crimes a g ain st b a n k s , the Federal Reserve feels strongly that the sec u rity officer designated by the Board of D irectors should receive the co operation and encouragement of top management in his efforts to improve and main tain an adequate sec u rity p ro g ram . The Federal R eserve u r g e s you to carefully review y our s ec urity program and to take steps to remedy any deficiencies, p a rtic u la rly in the are as cited above. In an effort to update o u r information on security devices p re s en tly in u s e, y our co operation is req u ested in completing the accompanying q u estio n n aire and re tu rn in g it in the enclosed envelope at y o u r e arliest convenience. Sincerely y o urs, E rnest T . Baughman President Enclosures (2) RECAPITULATION OF FACTORS RELATING TO BANK CRIMES AND TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BANK PROTECTION ACT OF 1968 Date Name of Bank (or B ranch) A ddress Yes No ( 1. Do you now h a v e r o b b e r y a la rm s a t te lle r stations? Yes No ( 2. If you do not now ha v e r o b b e r y a la rm s a t te lle r s ta tio n s , do you h a v e a n y p la n s to install s u c h a la rm s in th e n e a r future? Yes No ( 3. Is y o u r v a u lt o r p rin c ip a l s to r a g e safe now e q u ip p e d with a b u r g l a r y alarm? Yes No ( 4. If you do not now h a v e a b u r g l a r y a larm for y o u r v a u lt o r safe, do you h a v e an y p la n s to install s u c h a n ala rm in the n e a r future? Yes No ( 5. Do you now h a v e s u r v e illa n c e c a m e ra s installed in the b a n k in g lobby? Yes No ( 6. If you do not now have s u r v e i l l a n c e c a m e ra s installed in the b a n k in g lobby, do you h a v e a n y p la n s to install s u c h c a m e ra s in th e n e a r future? Yes No ( 7. Do you h a v e one o r more uniform ed g u a r d s (e ith e r full o r p a r t time) in th e lobby d u r i n g b a n k in g h o u rs? Yes No ( 8. Do you h a v e one o r more uniform ed g u a r d s (e ith e r full o r p a r t time) in the b a n k d u r i n g n o n - b a n k i n g h o u rs? Yes No ( 9. A re y o u r b a n k in g lobby t e lle r s p ro te c te d by bu lle t r e s i s t a n t c o n str u c tio n a n d m aterials? 10. Give n u m b e r of r o b b e r ie s o c c u r r i n g d u r i n g the p a s t 24 m onths. 11. Give n u m b e r of b u r g l a r i e s o c c u r r i n g d u r i n g the p a st 24 m onths. (Signed)
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