The number of bank heists in the city was cut in half last year, thanks to new Plexiglas “bandit barriers” and tellers who simply ignored the would-be thieves, experts said. There were 222 bank hold-ups in 2009, compared to 444 in 2008, according to NYPD stats.
The decline came after the NYPD, alarmed by a spike of robberies in 2008, sat down with bank executives in early 2009 and urged them to step up security efforts.
As a result, Wachovia installed “bandit barriers” in all of its 23 Manhattan branches, separating tellers and customers with bulletproof Plexiglas.
But perhaps the banks’ most effective weapon was training tellers to simply walk away instead of handing over cash.
On Oct. 22, career criminal Herman Steward, 52, entered the Chase branch on Broadway at West 73rd Street with a note reading, “Give me $20s, $50, $100 now. No due [sic] packs. No alarms U-R beng wetch [sic].”
The teller, protected by a “bandit barrier,” ducked under the counter, foiling the robbery. With his face caught on camera, Steward turned himself in.
Additional reporting by Katherine Romero