Bank heists spike to 26 in county, but patrons, employees are unhurt

Willie Sutton, a famous career bank robber last apprehended in 1952, was asked why he robbed banks.

His alleged, equally famous, response was, "Because that's where the money is."

While it is probably a safe bet that many of today's bank robbers in Fairfax County never heard of Sutton, they have apparently reached much the same conclusion.

It is also probably an equally safe bet that terrorized employees and the few customers caught up in a bank robbery find Sutton's oft-quoted remark less than amusing.

While the odds of being at a bank during the course of a robbery in populous Fairfax County might approach the astronomical, this year, at least, they are narrowing.

In the first seven months of 2006 there were 26 bank robberies in Fairfax County. There were 19 in all of 2005 and 19 in 2004.

Fortunately, according to Lt. Richard Perez of the Fairfax County Police Department, no one has been injured in any of the heists, despite the fact that in some cases the robber was obviously armed.

Where in the county are these robberies being committed? At which banks?

According to police, the robberies have taken place throughout the county in no less than nine communities. The Springfield area has been hardest hit with eight robberies, followed by Annandale and Falls Church with three each. The Centreville and Chantilly areas each had two banks robbed. But banks in McLean, Fairfax and the Tysons Corner areas have also fallen prey during the current spike in robberies.

Branches of nearly all the major banks have been hit, but BB&T with nine robberies and Wachovia with six are the most victimized. Chevy Chase banks were robbed four times.

Several of the 26 total banks have been robbed more than once, Perez noted, adding that police believe as many as 10 robberies can be attributed to two men. Police have made at least five arrests in connection with the robberies and are working with the FBI to identify and arrest other suspects.

Why the spike in bank robberies? No one seems to know for sure, but, according to John Hall, a spokesman for the American Bankers Association (ABA), "Bank robberies across the nation have fluctuated over the past 20 years and seem to rise as the economy heads south." Locally, Hall added, spikes in drug use as well as economic downturns, for example, help drive the number of bank robberies.

Even so, neither national nor local crime statistics appear to readily explain the more than 600-percent increase in bank robberies in Fairfax County this year.

Bob Denham, a spokesman for BB&T bank, pointed out that all bank employees are trained how to behave during a robbery. "It is part of their orientation when they are first hired," he said. "Also, every quarter," Denham added, "we have security training and risk reviews where we deal with fraud and other issues as well as robberies."

Hall said he would not discuss specifics of employee training, "because bank robbers read the papers."

ABA's Hall said, "The number-one priority for a bank is the safety of its employees and its customers. It's non-negotiable. We mean it." Hall cited advances in technology in alarm systems, surveillance cameras and use of bandit-barriers in cutting the number of bank robberies from a national all-time high of 9,540 in 1992.

While bank employees are trained to deal with robbery situations and customers are not, Hall pointed out that "most customers don't know a robbery has happened. The great majority of robberies are through a note," he said, adding," 96 percent of all bank robberies are non-violent."

While that statistic should be comforting to bank patrons, that 4 percent of robberies that are violent should dispel any complacency.

Perez offered advice for those bank patrons who may find themselves aware of or involved in a bank robbery, whether violent or not. Perez said:

If people see something suspicious before they enter a bank, they should walk away from trouble and phone police.

If a robbery is taking place, patrons should be as compliant as possible-never confrontational.

If patrons can observe details about the suspect or vehicle or circumstances without placing themselves at risk, that can be helpful-but the police are not encouraging anyone to take risks.

A bank robber wants to get in and out of the bank as soon as possible. He or she should not be impeded.

And, as for those would-be Willie Suttons, Hall noted that Sutton spent most of his life in jail and that "three out of four bank robbers are caught within 18 months."

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.