Bank hopes $10,000 will help stop robbers

DETROIT - It just got a little harder to get away with a bank robbery in Michigan.

Charter One bank is joining forces with law enforcement to help stop bank robberies in the state, offering a $10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those who rob Charter One banks. In a Tuesday morning news conference in Detroit, federal law enforcement offi cers and Charter One offi cials lauded the new program, which teams with CrimeStoppers.

"Charter One is taking aggressive steps to ensure the safety of our banks," said Sandra Pierce, president and CEO of Charter One Bank.

In 2005, there were 354 bank robberies in Michigan. Only two other states - California and Ohio, which had 884 and 385, respectively - had more bank robberies, said John Gilles, a special agent with the FBI. In Oakland County, there were 55 bank robberies. While the numbers are down from 2004, when there were 456 bank robberies in Michigan, including 57 in Oakland County, offi cials say even one is too many.

"There are a lot of bank robbers out there," said Special Agent Terry Booth.

Most bank robberies are on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. About 91 percent of bank robbers are men.

Booth said drugs, alcohol and a bad economy are some reasons why people rob banks. But sometimes, it's just about getting cash, he said. Most bank robbers are unarmed and hand a note to a teller, demanding money. They aren't usually violent, he said. And most bank robbers rob until they get caught, meaning that one arrest can clear up several unsolved cases.

There are several serial bank robbers operating right now in Michigan, including a robber who resembles fi lmmaker Michael Moore and has robbed at least six banks in Wayne and Macomb counties; a team, dubbed the "dynamic duo," who hide their faces with ski masks and have robbed at least four banks in Wayne County; and the "check book bandit," who police say is responsible for robbing four banks in Wayne and Oakland counties. All are priority cases for the FBI, Booth said.

"There are several unsolved cases out there," he said.

John Broad, president of CrimeStoppers, said he hopes the new program with Charter One will help drum up tips in some of the state's unsolved cases. He said community involvement is key in solving crimes.

"We know that the citizens out there want to help," Broad said. "They want to get criminals off the streets."

Pierce and others say they hope other banks will join in and offer similar rewards. In addition to the reward money, Pierce said the banks place a premium on security, with good cameras and other devices that police use to solve the crimes.

Also, several banks in the Detroit area are working together and with law enforcement on the issue. Security professionals last year formed a voluntary group called Financial Institutions Team Security, which meets monthly to talk about recent robberies, trends and other topics.

"This is the fi rst formalized program," Pierce said of Tuesday's announcement.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.