Bank robberies rising in parts of Southern California, FBI says

After plummeting for the last decade, bank robberies in parts of Southern California have increased during these tough economic times.

Los Angeles County saw a jump in robberies in 2008, a trend that gained momentum in January. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported 42 for the month.

Los Angeles County bank robberies totaled 171 in 2008, the first increase since 2000. There were 145 bank robberies in Orange County last year, the highest total this decade. The previous high was 139 in 2000.

There was the “salt and pepper bandit,” the gray-haired thief who was performing stickups at a rate of every other day. The “bullheaded bandit” was believed to be responsible for half a dozen robberies that included four bank stickups in one day. The “sleeves bandit” was suspected in a La Canada Flintridge bank robbery in January, part of a string of robberies he was believed to have committed along the California coast.

Special Agent Steve May, who runs the bank robbery detail for the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said that despite concerns about a rise in bank robberies, such increases were likely to be short-lived.

May expects about 425 bank robberies this year, give or take a dozen. Whatever the final tally, he said, it will be a far cry from the 1992 peak of 2,600 bank holdups in Los Angeles County.

There are already some signs that 2009 might not be as bad as 2008. The latest statistics from the FBI suggest fewer bank robberies in parts of Southern California in February and March.

The trend is mixed across the region.

In Riverside County, where some of the worst economic dislocation has occurred from the housing bust, bank holdups have been generally on a decline, going from 53 in 2000 to 40 last year, not far off the decade low of 37 in 2005. The pattern in San Bernardino County, also hard-hit economically, has been uneven. There were 51 bank robberies in 2000. Those totals rose to 55 the next year and dropped over the next four years to 20 in 2005, rose to 39 in 2006, fell to 28 in 2007 and rose to 38 in 2008.

Ventura County has also seen ups and downs, but in 2008, the county experienced the fewest bank robberies of the decade.

In addition to enhanced security at banks, marked improvements in surveillance technology and the ability to immediately distribute video and images to law enforcement and the media are resulting in more rapid arrests, keeping bank robbery totals relatively low.

“The reality is after a month or two they get caught, and once that happens, the number dies out,” May said. “The more eyes on a photo, the better it is for us.”

In contrast, it would not be unusual two decades ago for authorities to take a month to process surveillance images.

Gangs, which were predominantly behind the rise in bank robberies in the late 1980s and 1990s, have not been as active over the last five years. Instead, the FBI is seeing the single male takeover robber whose crimes are fueled by some kind of dependency, such as addiction to gambling or drugs.

Authorities are also seeing women more involved in robberies in the Southern California counties whose cases are handled by the Los Angeles field office. Previously, about 3% to 4% of female robbers would go into a bank, but over the last several years, the number has risen to nearly 7% in the Los Angeles area, May said.

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andrew.blankstein@latimes.com