According to the FBI Bank Crime Statistics, there were nearly 4,000 bank robberies in the United States in 2014. The FBI claim
s that banks have made themselves easy targets by refusing to install clear acrylic partitions, called bandit
barriers,
that separate bank tellers from the public. According to a special agent with the FBI,
"Bandit barriers are a great deterrent. We've talked to guys who rob banks, and as soon as they see a bandit barrier, they go find another bank."
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, "Bank Crime Statistics (BCS) Federally Insured Financial Institutions, January 1, 2014-December 31, 2014," www.fbi.gov; and Richard Cowen, "FBI: Banks Are to Blame for Rise in Robberies,"
NorthJersey.com,
March 10, 2009.
Despite this finding, many banks have been reluctant to install these barriers. Wouldn't banks have a strong incentive to install bandit barriers to deter robberies? Why, then, do so many banks not do so?