Southland Bank Robberies Rise by 8%, FBI Says

Bank robberies rose by 8% in seven Southern California counties in 2000, spiking dramatically in the San Fernando Valley and Riverside areas, FBI officials said Tuesday.

Last year, there were 694 bank robberies, compared with 639 in 1999. Bank robberies had declined every year but one since 1992, when there were a record 2,641. Although most bank robberies are not violent, there was an 8% increase last year in “takeover” robberies, where suspects make a visible threat of violence.

“An 8% rise is not much [regionwide], but it’s enough to be disconcerting because it had been going down until now,” said James DeSarno, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles bureau.

However, the jump in bank-related crime in outlying areas is a “major concern,” DeSarno said. In Riverside, there was a 44% jump in robberies, from 64 in 1999 to 92 last year. And the 60 robberies in the San Fernando Valley represent a 62% increase from 1999. The Valley also saw one of the greatest jumps in takeover robberies, going from 3 to 14.

DeSarno said much of the increase can be blamed on street gang activity and the work of a few serial bank robbers, including one known as the Kangaroo Bandit, who authorities say has robbed 24 banks from Laguna Niguel to Saugus since 1999.

“If you get the right 10 bank robbers off the street, you’re going to have an incredible effect on the numbers,” DeSarno said.

DeSarno said the region is prone to bank robberies because of its numerous freeways, large population and large number of banks. The Los Angeles region again had the highest number of bank robberies in the nation. According to preliminary figures, the next closest city was Detroit, with 326, followed by Seattle with 311.

Furthermore, Los Angeles crime overall is on the rise and banks are always attractive targets, Los Angeles Police Department officials said.

“Crime is up in the entire city. . . . It always makes a tempting situation for robbery suspects to pick a bank right by a freeway and go in,” said Val Paniccia, assistant commander of the LAPD’s Valley Bureau.

Although law enforcement agencies have been working with banks to improve security, West Coast branches are generally much “friendlier places” than their East Coast counterparts, which generally feature bulletproof, glass-encased teller windows, the FBI’s DeSarno said.

“Here, you reach across and grab a teller any time you walk into a bank,” he said.

Southern California banks have been trying to beef up security through protective features and by moving branches to supermarkets, whose crowds offer more protection from robberies, DeSarno said.

“Each year, the banking industry has made progress in terms of security,” he said. “It might make for a cold, impersonal transaction, but it keeps the robbers away.”

Bank officials expressed disappointment at the increase and said they would attempt to refine security measures. Bank of America, which operates about 400 branches in Southern California, does not discuss its specific security measures, but “we’re constantly reviewing policy and preparing security measures,” said spokeswoman Ashleigh Adams.

“But it is disheartening to realize that bank robberies are on the ever-so-slight rise,” she said.

The counties included in the study were: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.