Some locals were just sentenced to the federal pen for attempting to rob a bank, which makes me shake my head in disbelief. How can even the dumbest of criminals think of robbing a bank in this day and age?
Money is how one might answer such a question, thinking back to the famous quote attributed to prolific bank robber Willie Sutton. When asked why he robbed banks, Sutton reportedly replied: “Because that’s where the money is.” Just how much a bank robbery will net today is up in the air though.
The most recent figures from the FBI I have found which were from about five years ago put the clearance rate for bank robbery cases around 58 percent. One might see that as a 40 percent chance of success but just where that figure might stand when you look at arrests sometime on down the road is a big question.
There is no question though that banks and the cops put a lot of obstacles in the way for bank robbers. Examples range from the ever-present security cameras from every angle to silent alarms to exploding dye packs. I mean, other than getting shot or arrested, having the money you risked your life to steal blow up, covering you with dye has to really suck.
Unless you are an old geezer who simply wants the state or federal government to take care of you until you die it doesn’t sound like there is much of a future in bank robbery and if there was a future it would have to be pretty damned bleak.