Bank Robbers Post Strong Quarter

As the banking industry wobbled in the face of a debilitating credit crisis, bank robbers reported strong results for the third quarter (July 1 through September 30) of 2007.

The FBI reported 1,578 violations of the Federal Bank Robbery and Incidental Crimes Statute during the period, with thieves walking away with $19,769,819.51 of loot. So far, only $2,209,768.06 has been recovered.

Digging deeper into the numbers, it turns out that bank robbers are morning people—as if you needed another reason to hate them. Incidents occurred most frequently between the hours of 9 to 11 a.m., and Monday and Fridays were the most popular days.

That means 10 a.m. on a Monday would be about the worst time to head to a bank, while, say noon on a Wednesday—when bank robbers are apparently on their lunch break—is about the safest. Saturday and Sunday are, of course, even safer—who works on weekends anyway?

From the FBI report:

During the period, big states like California and Texas led the nation in bank robberies, with 198 and 118, respectively, while wimpy states (sorry about that!) like North Dakota, Delaware, and Montana put up goose eggs. (Come on guys, even Vermont had two.)

Although bank security systems have grown increasingly sophisticated, it appears that bank robbers still prefer the good old-fashioned handgun-and-note approach.

And when it comes to hostage-taking, you're better off being a customer than an employee. (That's good or bad news, depending on your occupation.)

The good news is that these incidents rarely result in any deaths, unless, of course, you are the one robbing the bank—in which case your chances of being killed increase dramatically.