Safety at ATMs Has Increased, Police Say : Banks: A legislator cites the need for more specific statistics on crime at cash machines. An industry official says the risk is exaggerated.

Maybe better lighting would have made a difference. And maybe Sherri Foreman and her unborn fetus would still be alive had she chosen another automated teller machine or a better time to use one.

But authorities and banking experts said Thursday that financial institutions--stung by a recent rash of ATM-related slayings and prodded by sweeping ATM safety laws--have done much to prevent holdups at the cash machines.

“They’ve heeded the call from the banking industry as well as from police departments,” said Los Angeles Police Lt. John Dunkin. “And there’s been a significant effort by us to apprise people of crime prevention techniques.”

Few, if any, California police agencies keep statistics on the number of ATM holdups, instead lumping them in with all street robberies, authorities say.

In 1992, there were 39,200 robberies in the city of Los Angeles, including 7,230 in the San Fernando Valley, and figures for 1991 were almost identical, Officer Steve Wesselink said.

Police said a proposed plan by the LAPD to have a special category for ATM crime has been on hold for 17 months, a fact that angers at least one lawmaker.

“We need to know the extent of the problem, and the only way we can do that is to collect statistics,” said state Sen. Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier), who authored the nation’s first statewide ATM safety law, which went into effect in July, 1991.

Calderon’s bill to require police departments to keep ATM-specific statistics has been defeated in each of the last three legislative sessions, mostly because police departments say it would be too cumbersome and expensive.

Bank representatives, however, accuse critics of exaggerating the risk of using ATMs.

James Clark, vice president of the California Banking Assn., said many banks have gone beyond the requirements of Calderon’s law, installing not only better lighting and ambush-free environments but other safety measures. As a result, a survey of more than 90% of the state’s banks indicated there were only 499 ATM-related crimes during 1992, compared to 2,166 bank robberies.

“Is ATM crime rampant? No,” Clark said. “We are taking ATM safety very seriously, and I think the numbers reflect that.”

The survey of banks showed that robbers struck at all times of the day and at cash machines with all levels of safety precautions. “There is a random nature to it,” Clark said, “and how can you plan for something that is totally unpredictable?”

F. Barry Schreiber, the Minnesota-based editor of the national ATM Crime and Security Newsletter, said an enormous increase in use of ATMs in recent years has put more people at risk and created more victims. “But I don’t see any dramatic increase in frequency of attacks,” he said.

Bank representatives and authorities said customers should park their cars in well-lighted areas, use well-lighted ATMs, avoid cash machines with nearby hedges or hiding places, and bring company if a transaction must be made at night. In addition, time spent at the machine should be minimized, cash should be put away immediately and customers should be alert at all times and ready to cancel a transaction if strangers appear.

Bank officials predicted more safety improvements in the future.

Stringent safety requirements adopted by New York City last fall “certainly got everybody’s attention,” said Sean Kennedy of the Washington-based Electronic Funds Transfer Assn., which represents banks and ATM manufacturers. The New York City ordinance requires that ATMs have mirrors and reflective panels, so users can see behind their backs; strong lighting and posted tips on safety precautions, and one wall of transparent materials if the machine is in an enclosed vestibule, among other regulations.

“No doubt they are taking a very serious look at ATM safety and site security,” Kennedy said. “I think they’re doing it because it’s good business practice. And of course, there’s always the view that if someone gets hurt, you could be named in a suit and held liable.”