BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
![[]](/editions/1998/08/20/rob_180x108.jpg)
Uniformed Cincinnati police officers stand guard outside the Fifth Third Bank branch at Harrison and Spring Grove avenues Wednesday.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
| ZOOM |
|
For the second time in two weeks, robbers hit the Fifth Third Bank branch at Harrison and Spring Grove avenues Wednesday and stole a car in the getaway.
It was the 17th bank robbery in the area since June -- the same as the total of bank robberies for all of last year in Hamilton County. Greater Cincinnati has had 24 bank robberies so far this year -- already reaching the usual yearly average.
"It runs in cycles sometimes," said Sgt. Tom Lanter, a supervisor in the Cincinnati Police Division's homicide unit, which investigates bank robberies.
Only a few bank robberies appear to be connected, he said. Two are the unsolved robberies July 14 at Bank One in Mount Lookout and July 28 at Fifth Third Bank in Mount Washington.
In the suburbs, two more are thought to be related -- the July 8 robbery at Provident Bank in Springdale and the July 9 hit at Star Bank in Groesbeck. The same man has been charged with both crimes. The suspect in Wednesday's robbery was still being sought Wednesday night. Police did not have a detailed description. He got away in a bank customer's 1987 Dodge Diplomat and dumped the car in the West End before running away.
If FBI statistics hold true, he has a 26 percent chance of getting away with the crime.
The average take in a bank robbery is $2,000, and 74 percent of bank robbers in southern Ohio are caught, the FBI estimates. Columbus typically has twice as many bank robberies as Cincinnati, and Cleveland had seven times more bank robberies than Cincinnati in 1996.
The typical bank robber is a man working alone who's involved with narcotics and wants quick cash, and authorities agree it's a chancy crime. Bank robbers are sure to have their picture taken during a holdup, an alarm tripped and officers immediately on their trail.
But people still do it. Cincinnati has seen its share of notorious bank robbers in recent years. Among there were:
Former Cincinnatian Peter Langan is said to be a leader of the Midwestern Bank Bandits, responsible for bank robberies from Springdale to Columbus.
Christopher Kerins, a former New Jersey undercover police officer, made headlines in 1996 after robbing a Kenwood bank while in town for a police convention. He was identified as the "Camouflage Bandit" and charged in a string of bank robberies in New Jersey. Whether it's a money machine or in front of a teller in a bank, the one advantage for would-be robbers is that few banks have sophisticated surveillance cameras, said Steve Uhrig, president of SWS Security, a leading manufacturer of electronic surveillance equipment. Most banks have video cameras that produce grainy, black-and-white images of suspects, he said.
"Banks don't like to spend money," Mr. Uhrig said. "They all think it's not going to happen to them."
The FBI works jointly with local police departments in solving bank robberies, and prosecutors decide whether to push for local or federal charges.
"There's no rhyme or reason" as to why bank robberies are up this year, said Tracey Heinlein, a special agent with the FBI. Sometimes the number increases during the holidays when people need extra cash, she said.
Less than half of this year's bank robberies are solved -- so far. Police are asking for tips that could lead to arrests of other robbers. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040. Callers remain anonymous and can earn rewards for tips that lead to arrests.
![[]](/editions/1998/08/20/rob_550x331.jpg)