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Ten bank robberies in less than a month but only two suspects in cuffs. Compare that to 2008 when there were 14 bank robberies in Tulsa.

For bank employees it can be unnerving. Fox 23’s Abbie Alford spoke with an intelligence company and got an inside look about training and knowing what to do if a robber walks in the door.

Police say as the employee at Tuesday's IBC bank robbery on 42nd and Garnett walked to the door to unlock it the robber put a gun to her head and forced himself inside. Police say the robber then jumped over the counter and forced that employee and her co-worker who was already inside to open the vault. No one was hurt but one wrong moved could have turned deadly.

That’s why some banks are taking steps to make sure employees know how to keep their cool during a stick-up. Bank robbers come in all different types. Some are dressed like a typical customer others are clad in a wig, mask or even wearing three lights beaming from their head.

Former bank teller Alecia Scoggins-Cartwright says no matter the situation it’s about staying calm. "It's always a shock. You always want to do what the robber tells you to do. You're life isn't worth risking the money," says Scoggins-Cartwright.

Tulsa police officer and Citadel Intelligence owner Greg Douglass trains bank employees. He says in the last four years none of the banks where Douglass has trained has been robbed.

"The mission of my program is simply to save lives," says Douglass. Douglass was the first officer on the scene when First Fidelity bank teller Amber Rogers was gunned down in 2004.

The bank president and a customer were also shot. So he wants customers to be alert too.

"Hands up, eyes downcast because if they are scanning and looking for problems we don't want the gun pointed at us," says Douglass. "We don't want to present ourselves as maybe we are reaching for cell phones or we are going to cause problems." Douglass says robbers usually want to know how the bank is secured before the heist.

"Most all banks are cased before they are ever robbed," says Douglass.  Strategically placed cameras can make banks a hard target for robbers too.

"They are layered to overlap and get specific angles based upon if this bank was robbed where are the suspects going to come in, how are they going to approach, how are they going to conduct themselves,” says Douglass.

Douglass says police have a better chance too when cameras are placed at eye level or close to it. "We want people when they walk in to see immediately that they are on camera," says Douglass. He says that plus alert employee can save lives.   "With more tellers who have heightened their senses and to know what to look out for hopefully it can be prevented," says Scoggins-Cartwright.  The lead robbery detective, Sgt. Dave Walker, says right now they have beefed up police patrols around banks especially during banking hours.

He says there are three investigators strictly dedicated to solving the remaining seven bank robbers of 2009.  In November 2008 the city started charging a $32.28 fee for officers who use their patrol cars for off duty jobs. That includes providing security to banks.

Detectives say in all the bank robberies this year not one had a patrol car parked out front. A new robbery number and e-mail have been set up that are dedicated for tips relating to the recent bank robberies. 

 

Bankers Arm Themselves With Knowledge in Battle Against Robberies

Legacy Bank will hold robbery simulation training for bankers on June 29

You’re a teller at a bank on a normal business day. Suddenly, two masked men enter the building, shouting orders and pointing guns.

What would you do? How would you protect yourself and your customers?

Fortunately, on this day the masked men are professional trainers using robbery simulations to teach bankers how to avoid injuries and losses in the unfortunate event of an actual robbery.

Legacy Bank will hold one of these simulations sessions at their bank at 5:00p.m. June 29 at their location on North May and Memorial Road.

With a dramatic increase in bank robberies and violence in the past few years, many Oklahoma banks have enlisted the services of a new program called “FIST” – Financial Institution Safety Training. FIST training starts with an on-site evaluation of the bank location, followed by staff training and culminating in a realistic robbery simulation.

“We want our bankers to be trained, prepared and safe,” said Terry Hague, senior vice president at Legacy Bank. “Our message to criminals is don’t rob an Oklahoma bank because if you do we’re coming after you.”

The Oklahoma Bankers Association endorses the FIST program. FIST came about in 2004, after bank teller Amber Rogers was killed and another bank employee and customer were both injured in the robbery of a First Fidelity Bank in Tulsa. June 22 marks the one-year anniversary of that tragic day.

Mark Poole, then-president at First Fidelity Bank, was shot in the robbery. He now serves on the OBA’s Robbery Task Force and supports the FIST program.

“The task force has decided that scenario-based training is a more effective way to prepare for the unpredictable and violent criminal act of armed robbery,” Poole said. “Today’s criminals are very different than those of the past and the banking industry has to be prepared.”

To date, FIST has provided training at many banks. The OBA Robbery Task Force recently unveiled a comprehensive plan for fighting the robbery problem in Oklahoma. For more information about FIST or the OBA Robbery Task Force, visit www.oba.com.

F.I.S.T. program helps bankers prepare for robberies

Two masked men are scheduled to enter Legacy Bank at N. May Avenue and W. Memorial Road at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
The masked men are professional scenario actors using robbery simulations to teach bankers how to avoid injuries and losses in the unfortunate event of an actual armed robbery.

Legacy Bank's training session is part of a new program called F.I.S.T. - Financial Institution Safety Training. "We want our bankers to be trained, prepared and safe," said Terry Hague, senior vice president at Legacy Bank. "Our message to criminals is don't rob an Oklahoma bank, because if you do we're coming after you."

The F.I.S.T. Certification Program is an armed robbery preparedness training module. It starts with a vulnerability assessment, which is an on-site evaluation of the bank location, followed by interactive instruction of the staff and culminating in a realistic robbery simulation in which the employees are given the chance to apply their new training.

The Oklahoma Bankers Association has endorsed Citadel Intelligence to provide the F.I.S.T. Certification Program to member banks. F.I.S.T. was created in 2004, by Greg Douglass, president of Citadel Intelligence. As a Tulsa police officer, Douglass was the first officer to arrive when First Fidelity Bank in Tulsa was robbed in June 2004 resulting in the death of Amber Rogers, a teller, and critical injuries to Mark Poole, the bank president, and one of the bank's customers.

Poole, who now serves as president of Summit Bank, is a member of the OBA's Robbery Task Force. "The task force has decided that scenario-based training is a more effective way to prepare for the unpredictable and violent criminal act of armed robbery," Poole said. "Today's criminals are very different than those of the past and the banking industry has to be prepared."

Banks aim to reduce robberies

Among recommendations is asking customers to remove sunglasses, hoods and hats before entering.

A spike in the number of bank robberies, including two that proved fatal last year, motivated bankers and law enforcement officials to join forces and create a plan to reduce robberies at Oklahoma banks.

A list of recommendations was approved by the Oklahoma Bankers Association's board of directors last week and will now be given to the state's banks, said the committee's chairman, Wade Edmundson. Edmundson is the chairman and chief executive officer of Summit Bank, 5314 S. Yale Ave.

Seeing the increase in robberies and the shocking level of violence used by some robbers, the banking community decided that "enough is enough," Edmundson said.

As a result, they formed the task force to see what they could do to increase safety for their customers and employees.

The group will suggest that banks post signs asking patrons to remove their sunglasses, hoods and hats -- items commonly worn by robbers -- before they enter.

Other suggestions include having the OBA increase the reward it offers for information about bank robberies and keep its membership notified about state-of-the-art security equipment.

The task force has met twice to identify actions its members believe will reduce the number of robberies and increase the potential for convicting the culprits.

The group includes bankers, law officers and prosecutors, including District Attorney Tim Harris, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Woodward and U.S. Attorney Doug Horn.

It also includes Mark Poole, who was president of First Fidelity Bank, 2642 E. 21st St., when gunmen burst in and shot him, a teller and a customer on June 22. The teller, Amber Rogers, died from her injuries.

Poole is now president of Summit Bank.

About a month earlier, security guard Kenneth Wayne Anderson was shot to death May 24 as he worked to defend the MidFirst Bank at 7050 S. Yale Ave.

There were 52 bank robberies in Oklahoma in 2002, 95 in 2003 and 59 in 2004.

In Tulsa alone, 11 occurred in 2002, 19 occurred in 2003 and 20 occurred in 2004. Through May 1, three bank robberies have occurred in Tulsa this year, Cpl. Paul Hutter said.

Elaine Dodd, vice president of the OBA's Fraud Division, worked with the task force and said research shows that part of the reason robberies were up in recent years is the increased number of banks and bank branches.

Many banks also now have extended days and hours of operation, she noted.
"There are just more opportunities to get inside banks and rob them," Dodd said.

Other reasons noted for the increase include increased demands on law enforcement and a spike in gang activity.

The task force recommends that banks consider posting signs that ask people to take off their hats, hoods and sunglasses before entering their banks because in more than 60 percent of bank robberies, the robbers wore these items.

The OBA is also considering coordinating a public service campaign to inform the public of the reasons for the signs.

"We want our customers to know that it is out of concern for your safety that we ask this, and, hopefully, it will prevent robberies from taking place," Dodd said.

Such signs were recently posted at Summit Bank, Edmundson said. His bank has also installed an electronic door lock at the entrance, and no one can enter until employees release the lock.

"Since we are a business and professional bank, we know most of our customers, and they come in smoothly. When we do not know the person, we politely ask how we can help and get some details before allowing them to enter," Edmundson said.

There is a buzzer at the entrance, and bank employees can communicate with patrons through an intercom. The task force also recommends that each branch should consider taking a risk-assessment profile, a questionnaire designed to reflect the risk of robbery. This will give bank officials insight about security improvements.

Edmundson and Dodd said the group believes that banks should continue conducting regular security training for all employees and consider offering a training exercise that includes robbery re-enactments.

Dodd said such training helps employees be prepared "if and when the time comes."

The task force also recommends creating a program similar to "Operation Ceasefire" to educate the general public about robberies.

Operation Ceasefire, the local version of the national initiative Project Safe Neighborhoods, offers graphic depictions of the deadly consequences of drugs and guns in a collaboration between local and federal law enforcement.

The group recommends that the OBA increase its potential reward for the arrest of bank robbery suspects from up to $2,000 to up to $5,000.

Member banks are also strongly encouraged to join InfraGard, a message board offered through the FBI that immediately informs users of crimes in banks.

The task force also suggests that the OBA should educate its members about key features of state-of-the-art security equipment that results in quicker apprehension of robbers.

Dodd said even a tear on a robber's jeans has been used against him in court when the image was captured on a good surveillance camera.

The task force also recommends that the OBA and its members actively support the District Attorneys Council in current legislative efforts to increase funding for prosecutors by an incremental $7 million.

In the next legislative session, the task force suggests that the OBA support legislation that would enhance state sentencing statutes for felonies.

Bank Robbers Beware: Armed With Knowledge, Bankers Fight Back Against Increased Robberies

It was just more than a year ago when officer Greg Douglass entered Tulsa's First Fidelity Bank with his gun drawn.
First on the scene of a bank robbery gone horribly awry, Douglass scanned the room and quickly focused on 62-year-old customer Howard Smith lying on the floor and bleeding from gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

He also saw bank president Mark Poole, 45, lying in a pool of blood from shots to the arm and leg. And, he regretfully noted 26-year-old teller Amber Rogers was dead a few feet away from Poole, despite complying with every demand from three masked men who ordered her to empty her drawer into a duffel bag.

The men fled from the scene of their crimes at 21 Centre Complex, Douglass said, but were apprehended later that same evening.
“These people just showed up to work,” he said, indicating the robbery scene was one of the most wrenching of his 10 years as a policeman. “They had absolutely no way to defend themselves or protect themselves.”
A year later, Douglass now is working with the Oklahoma Bankers Association to make sure the scenario is never repeated. Still on the Tulsa force, he also heads Citadel Intelligence LLC, which provides banks statewide Financial Institution Safety Training.

“I started asking why, why this, why that,” Douglass said of his thoughts following the First Fidelity robbery. It then occurred to him the bank employees “really didn't have any kind of program developed that would give the tellers an opportunity to have some first-hand, scenario-based training.”

So he and a SWAT team member did some research, met with several local bank vice presidents and then sought an audience with OBA President Robert Beverage.

It just so happened the OBA was actively searching for a training program at the time and Douglass seemed to have the answers.
Douglass remembers Beverage's fist slamming on the OBA's conference room table as symbolic of how serious the organization was about protecting customers and its own.

“It was exactly what they wanted at exactly the right time,” Douglass said. “I guess it just took a tactical, critical thinking person to look at what they were facing and to step back and look at what's going on and look at what they need.”
The OBA now endorses Douglass' certification training - and so does Poole.

“It's obviously very, very personal to me,” said Poole, who is now president of Summit Bank in Tulsa and a member of the OBA's Robbery Task Force.

“I've always been a strong supporter of security, but this just heightened my level of interest in not only training but supporting any efforts by the OBA to increase the level of security and the various ways we can protect both our employees and clients.”
Most recently, Douglass trained Legacy Bank employees in Oklahoma City. Prior to the training, he completed a vulnerability assessment of the branch, reviewing its floor plan, layout, foot traffic areas as well as its camera positioning, heights of teller windows and possible rally points in the parking lot.

During the actual F.I.S.T. training, he spoke to tellers about the physical symptoms of stress associated with robberies and taught them how to spot post- traumatic stress disorder and where to go for help with it.

More importantly, he told them what to do in an actual robbery.

Actors portraying robbers provided as much realism as possible.

For people not trained to deal with criminals, Douglass said he hopes bank employees walk away with potential life-saving advice.

“I don't expect these folks to be military or police trained,” Douglass said. “When they are trained it's very important. They need more than a sterile, benign lecture in the conference room of a hotel. They need a little more stress and a little more realism because if they do face it, it's a life or death situation that can turn on their responses.”

Terry Hague, senior vice president at Legacy Bank, said the F.I.S.T. exercise was good for his employees. With 30 years in the banking industry, Hague has never personally been involved in a robbery but says you have to be prepared for the possibility.
“We want our employees to be trained, prepared and safe,” he said. “We think the best way to do that is to have realistic training like this that is going to prepare them for what could happen.

“We're really serious about not only preventing robberies but catching and convicting criminals. We're tired of it.”

While bank robberies may seem rare to some, they aren't. According to FBI statistics, Oklahoma experienced a 132-percent increase from 2002 to 2003 and, just last month, four Oklahoma City area banks were robbed.

June 29, the IBC Bank at 301 S. Bryant in Edmond was robbed following the robber handing the teller a note and, after getting what he came for, hopping into a waiting vehicle. June 27, Coppermark Bank at 1245 S.W. 74th St. in Oklahoma City was robbed in the same manner, but no weapon was seen and no one was injured. On June 13, Chase Bank at 18 E. 15th St. in Edmond was robbed, though the robber took off on foot. And, on June 9, First Fidelity Bank, at 3595 W. Robinson in Norman, was robbed with no weapon brandished, no one hurt and the robber fleeing on foot.

However, the June 22, 2004 robbery of First Fidelity was different, and one of 20 in Tulsa and 59 statewide last year. A 15-minute time delay on the bank's vault was apparently enough to set the robbers off that day, so much so Poole barely got words out of his mouth before seeing a flash and feeling a burning in his side.

He spent 22 days in the hospital and had four major surgeries before feeling like he was back together again.
“The thing all bankers should be keenly aware of is the potential for this kind of situation and realize we are in a risk industry and that we have to prepare ourselves to protect our employees and clients,” Poole said.

Douglass added: “I don't want to use the words easy living, but (Oklahoma banks) are really customer-oriented and they're interested in having an open, aesthetic customer friendly environment,” Douglass said. “That's fine until we have a 132-percent increase in robberies and people are dying.”