Bank robbery
Bank robbery is the
crime of
robbing a
bank. It is also called
Bank Heist especially in the
USA. It is usually accomplished by a solitary criminal who brandishes a
firearm at a
teller and demands money, either orally or through a written note. The most dangerous type of bank robbery is a
takeover robbery in which several heavily armed (and armored) gang members threaten the lives of everyone present in the bank. Bank robbery can also take place during off hours when thieves try to break into the vault and get away with the loot.
According to the
Independence Hall Association in
Philadelphia, the first bank robbery in America, happened during the night of Saturday, August 31 or the morning hours of Sunday, September 1, 1798 at the Bank of Pennsylvania at Carpenters' Hall. The vaults were apparently robbed of $162,821, which was a very large sum of money at the time. Since no forced entry evidence existed, authorities assumed it was an "inside" job. Several suspects were immediately imprisoned and prosecuted, but the real culprits Isaac Davis and a partner. Within days of the heist, Davis' partner fell victim to a plague of
yellow fever that ravaged Philadelphia that summer.
The first bank robbery in the
United States took place on
March 19,
1831, and was committed by
Edward Smith who stole $245,000 from the City Bank on
Wall Street in
New York City. He was eventually
arrested,
convicted, and
sentenced to five years in
Sing Sing prison.
During the
American Civil War, raiders from both
Union and
Confederate armies would rob banks in enemy-controlled towns. These robberies were at the time regarded as legitimate
acts of war, but many of the raiders carried on robbing banks in the post-war era, giving rise to the famous robber gangs of the late 19th century.
Due to modern security measures like
security cameras, armed
security guards, silent alarms, exploding
dye packs, and
SWAT teams, bank robberies are now much more difficult. Few criminals are able to make a successful living out of bank robbery over the long run, since each attempt increases the probability that they will be identified and caught. Today most
organized crime groups tend to make their money by other means, such as
drug trafficking,
gambling,
loan sharking,
identity theft, or online
scamming and
phishing. Bank robberies are still fairly common and are indeed successful, although eventually some bank robbers are found and arrested. A report by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation [
1] states that, among Category I serious crimes, the
arrest rate for bank robbery in 2001 was second only to that of
murder.
Ever since the "glory days" of the great bank robberies during the 19th century, bank robberies have become ingrained into
American popular culture. Numerous
films,
books, and
songs have been written about the crime, which is the crime of choice for
villains everywhere in
comic books,
pulp adventure and crime stories, and even
cartoons. The incidence of bank robberies is less pronounced in many other countries despite lax security and it is believed that the cultural differences may be the reason.
*
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
*
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
*
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
*
The Italian Job (1969)
*
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
*
Fun With Dick And Jane (1977)
*
Loophole (1981)
*
BMX Bandits (1983)
*
Point Break (1991)
*
The Real McCoy (1993)
*
Trapped In Paradise (1994)
*
Heat (1995)
*
Set it off (1996)
*
In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory (1997)
*
Out of Sight (1998)
*
The Newton Boys (1998)
*
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
*
Bandits (2001)
*
Sugar & Spice (2001)
* Road to Perdition (2002)
* 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out (2003)
* Stander (2003)
* The Postcard Bandit (2003)
* Catch That Kid (2004)
* Firewall (2006)
* Inside Man'' (2006)
*
List of famous bank robbers and robberies
