NCJ Number
120030
Date Published
1988
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the nature and extent of robberies at British building society branches, assesses the effectiveness of features adopted to reduce robbery, and discusses how robberies at building society branches might be prevented.
Abstract
Building society branches are financial institutions where residents of Great Britain deposit their savings. In 1986, 148 building societies in the United Kingdom operated 7,000 branches. Data for the study included successful and attempted robberies and burglaries for 5,236 of the 7,000 branches. While the majority of the branches were well-protected from attack by robbers or burglars, the most secure branches were fortified with bullet-proof security screens, kept members of the public out of the banking hall, and employed staff trained to walk away from counters. Specific advice is provided to improve security in the branches. A checklist to reduce the offenders' sense of control is provided, along with security strategies for management. 10 footnotes.