Council Orders Study of Bank Access Doors

Expressing only lukewarm support for the proposal, the Thousand Oaks City Council has directed City Atty. Mark Sellers to examine the legality of an ordinance requiring bulletproof “anti-weapon doors” at every financial institution.

Council members asked Cmdr. Kathy Kemp of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, which provides police services in Thousand Oaks, to look into a suggestion made after the slaying of bank teller Monica Lynne Leech that the city require the pricey access systems at all banks.

In a report to the council Tuesday, Kemp recommended that the city further study the idea, but she expressed concerns with it. Although the proposal may deter bank robberies, she said, the doors could also lead to more hostage situations, as robbers looked for other ways to get into financial institutions.

“It is a deterrent, but it does not prevent bank robberies,” she said. “And . . . it could create a hostage-type situation during a takeover-type situation.”

The doors, being used at just two financial institutions in Ventura County, contain a metal detector in the first of two sets of doors. If the first doors detect a gun or other large metal object, the second doors will not open. Some of the systems even lock robbers inside the two doors if the detector in the first door senses a gun.

That, police say, could lead to a hostage situation between the doors if an innocent customer happens to be entering the same time as a robber.

Councilman Andy Fox said he supported additional study of the proposal’s legality but had some doubts about whether it was worthwhile.

“What I see is the council getting into an issue it knows very little about,” Fox said, adding that the banking industry is always looking for ways to make safety improvements and does not appear to have embraced the doors. He said bank representatives should be a part of any discussions on the proposal.