WASHINGTON — Robberies at credit unions have grown faster than robberies at banks, may continue to do so and may be the result of an opinion among a growing percentage of thieves that credit unions are softer targets than banks, according to federal robbery data and credit union insurers who have to pay claims for robberies.

Even though bank robberies overall increased relatively slightly, from 6,957 in 2005 to 7,272 in 2006 (4.5% for the year), robberies at credit unions jumped far higher than robberies at banks, according to numbers collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to FBI numbers, robberies at commercial banks moved up 2.24%, from 6,019 in 2005 to 6,154 in 2006. By comparison, robberies at CUs during the same period jumped 23.4%, from 422 in 2005 to 521 in 2006.

The numbers have drawn the attention of both law enforcement and credit union insurers, but they may prove difficult to rein in, according to an executive with CUNA Mutual Group, the insurer for about 95% of credit unions nationwide.

“What we have in credit unions, maybe more than at banks, is a conflict between a culture which puts an emphasis on the relationship with the member and maintaining that personal touch and the needs for security that can sometimes seem to dampen that,” explained Michael Petrone, a risk manager for CMG who specializes in helping credit unions plan for and prevent robberies.

“For example, from a security standpoint the inch teller barrier might be an advisable course of action for a CU to take, but the credit union might be reluctant to take that step because of how the members might feel about it,” he explained. He added that the most secure situation would be one where members only interacted with tellers through video screens and vacuum tubes or retractable drawers, the way they do at drive-thru, but that would offer the least amount of member contact and personal touch.

This fundamental conflict between wanting to keep up the personal touch and maintaining security, along with the individualistic nature of each robbery, makes it difficult to help credit unions prepare in a blanket way for robbery, Petrone added.

While CUNA Mutual produces a brochure on robbery prevention and while Petrone travels around the country briefing and training credit unions on robbery, he contrasted that approach with CMG's approach to card fraud. In the card fraud situation, the insurer recommended a set of “best practices” that, if implemented correctly, the insurer said could make a substantial dent in fraud losses.

But the insurer has not promulgated a similar set of recommendations for robbery because robberies are so individualistic and unique that no one set of industry-wide procedures is going to fit all situations.

“It's not like there is a set of eight or nine things that we can tell credit unions to do that will prevent all robberies or even almost all robberies,” Petrone said, adding that bank robbers have a lot more avenues open to them.

Instead, CUNA Mutual focuses on helping credit unions educate their staffs about robbery and on adapting procedures that will help make CUs appear less attractive robbery targets.

Some of these, Petrone noted, are easier to implement than others because they tie into good member relations. For example, most credit unions would describe making a point to greet members when they arrive at a branch to be an example of good member relations, but it can also be a very important tool for preventing a robbery before it has a chance to occur.

He recounted an example of a credit union that was located in an area where there had been an increase in robberies and which had asked him in to do some training that included the meet and greet technique. About one week after the training, he said, the credit union staff had made a point to meet a man who had entered one of the branches and had seemed confused about what he needed. Later, the CU found out that the man, after leaving the CU branch, had traveled down the road about a mile and robbed a bank branch.

Many of the sorts of techniques that Petrone recommends could be understood as common sense once a CU staff starts thinking in terms of preventing robberies. These sorts of things include not talking about how much money the CU might have on hand when in the branch lobby, he said. Some CUs post up parts of their financial reports in the lobby for their members, he noted as well. Credit unions that do this should black out or not include how much cash they have on hand which is indicated on the report, he said.

Another one is being sure to have doors that can be locked from the inside, he said. “A surprising number of credit unions don't really have a way for employees to lock the credit union up behind them when they arrive before opening hours,” Petrone said.

More Violence?

But increasing frequency of credit union robberies is not the only thing that has drawn law enforcement's attention. There are fears robbers in general are becoming more violent.

Overall for the last two years, the rate of violence in bank robberies has remained the same. In both 2005 and 2006, the FBI said that 4.5% of the nation's bank robberies involved violence. However that number appears to have begun creeping up in 2007, the FBI said.

For example, earlier this year in Bessemer, Alabama, a bank robber gunned down two tellers

and took a third hostage before being shot by police. Handguns or other firearms are actually being used

or threatened in more robberies as well, the FBI said, versus simply handing the teller a note demanding cash.

A spokesman for the FBI said the agency doesn't really have an explanation for why bank robbers appear more willing to resort to handguns now but said that there were indications that robbers were spending more time planning robberies and that they might think that CUs could make for easier targets.

This worries Petrone as well and he urges credit unions to start thinking not just in the mode of member service but also in the mode of member and staff security. Many of the best anti-robbery techniques are things that are going to flow from having staff in the CU think differently, he explained.

–dmorrison@cutimes.com

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Credit Unions Face Increased Robbery Threat, CU Seen as 'Softer' Than Banks

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