Bank robberies are up in cities across the USA this year and, although the reason is unclear, the down economy is a suspect.
"The economy is driving some of this," says Chris Swecker, chief security officer for Bank of America and former assistant director of the FBI's criminal division. "We're even getting some anecdotal stuff from bank robbers."
Swecker said Bank of America analysts study the interplay between the increase in bank heists and foreclosures, credit defaults and unemployment rates.
"We haven't drawn any conclusions yet, but we are certainly looking at it," he said.
The Los Angeles metro area has had 189 bank robberies this year, compared with 156 at the same point last year, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
Elsewhere:
*In San Francisco, bank robberies jumped from 20 in the first five months of 2007 to 32 for the same period in 2008, said Sgt. Wilfred Williams, spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department.
*Bank robberies in the Houston metro area more than doubled in 2007 to 115, and the city is on pace to match -- or break -- that mark with 51 robberies already, said Detective Robert Schobey of the Houston FBI Joint Bank Robbery Task Force.
"The economy is driving some of this," says Chris Swecker, chief security officer for Bank of America and former assistant director of the FBI's criminal division. "We're even getting some anecdotal stuff from bank robbers."Swecker said Bank of America analysts study the interplay between the increase in bank heists and foreclosures, credit defaults and unemployment rates.
"We haven't drawn any conclusions yet, but we are certainly looking at it," he said.
The Los Angeles metro area has had 189 bank robberies this year, compared with 156 at the same point last year, according to FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.
Elsewhere:
*In San Francisco, bank robberies jumped from 20 in the first five months of 2007 to 32 for the same period in 2008, said Sgt. Wilfred Williams, spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department.
*Bank robberies in the Houston metro area more than doubled in 2007 to 115, and the city is on pace to match -- or break -- that mark with 51 robberies already, said Detective Robert Schobey of the Houston FBI Joint Bank Robbery Task Force.
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