Bank Robbery in Criminal Law

At one time, bank robberies were extremely common, and made up more than 30% of all U.S. robberies nationally. Now, that number has been whittled significantly down to just over 2%, but it is estimated that one bank robbery occurs every hour in the United States.

Many would say that committing a bank robbery is about the dumbest mistake that a criminal can make. With the technological advances made in the security industry, it is extremely difficult to commit a bank robbery and get away with it. In fact, the Uniform Crime Reporting Program says that more than 50% of all bank robbers are either caught at the scene of the crime or are later identified and arrested from security camera footage.

A bank robbery is a crime of property - like any theft - but it is also considered a violent crime. Most bank robberies are orchestrated by one or two individuals who demand money from a single teller in line at the bank. More than 87% of bank robberies are committed at gunpoint, and the average amount of money stolen from a single bank robbery is $5K.

The most successful of all the bank robberies, however, are "takeover" bank robberies in which several criminals storm a bank at the same time and threaten the lives of everyone inside. Sometimes, this involves a demand to open the bank vault, which is usually not possible since most bank vaults are sealed under time-release lock.

Bank robberies are also often successful when they are an "inside job", which means that someone employed at the bank is in on the scam, usually one of the managers. He or she will be familiar enough with security procedures to allow gunmen to gain access to money and to facilitate their getaway.

Penalties for bank robbery are usually quite high, and rarely inspire leniency from the judge. If you are convicted of bank robbery without using a firearm, the maximum penalty is twenty years in prison. If, however, the bank robber is armed, the maximum penalty is 25 years.

That said, there are other charges for which a bank robber can be punished in addition to bank robbery. Prosecutors can tack on charges such as "intent to commit a felony" and "assault with a deadly weapon" if a firearm is used. These additional charges can add 10, 15 or even 20 extra years to a prison sentence. Further, if the bank robber hurts anyone during the commission of his crime, the charges will be appropriately more severe.