30 January 2008
Current accounts in the UK are safer than ever - as bank robberies are becoming a thing of the past, the British Bankers Association (BBA) said yesterday.
The BBA reported the lowest-ever bank robbery figure in its annual Physical Security Report - with just 106 attacks on branches for the whole of 2007.
What's more, total losses through heists were also down by £500,000.
BBA Chief Executive Angela Knight said: "Today's figures show that bank robbery is a crime that no longer pays; banks will not tolerate threats to their customers and staff."
She added: "They have invested heavily in countermeasures…and worked with the police to consign bank robbery to history. The message to criminals is clear: bank robbery is a crime that emphatically does not pay."
According to previous BBA reports, bank robberies peaked as a problem in 1992 - a year which saw more than 800 attacks.
The association cites the development of security technology such as panic alarms and CCTV for the downwards trend.