CHICAGO — After a drop in 2015, the number of bank robberies in the Chicago area jumped 34 percent in 2016, the FBI said.
The most common day to rob a bank?
Friday — for quick cash to fuel addictions, the FBI says.
"It is FBI Chicago's opinion that bank robberies occur mostly on Friday so that bank robbers can have cash before the weekend to fuel their addictions to drugs, alcohol or gambling," the FBI said in releasing its year-end stats.
The Chicago field office of the FBI, which has jurisdiction over bank robberies, released the annual data Tuesday showing that after the number of robberies dropped to 144 in 2015 from 192 in 2014, there were 193 bank robberies recorded in the Chicago area in 2016.
Agent Garrett Croon, the FBI's Chicago spokesman who has served as the office's bank robbery coordinator, said it's unclear why the number of robberies have shot up in 2016.
"The drop in 2015 could have been because some bank robbers were locked up," Croon said, noting that one out of every three bank robberies are committed by someone suspected of robbing a bank before.
Croon noted there were a higher than normal number of serial bank robberies in 2016, such as a bank robber who hit three banks last December and a fourth earlier this month.
Bank robberies tend to be near the end of the week, particularly Fridays, Croon said pointing to statistics and personal experience. "Yes, bank robbers are robbing on Fridays to fuel their weekend addictions," Croon said.
In an average bank robbery, the bank gives up $800 to $1,200, which is insured.
But Croon notes that the "true victim is the victim employees in the branch who are terrified."
He said anyone who is witness to a bank robbery should pay attention to detail so that a bank robbery could be caught. Minimum sentences for bank robbery is a year in prison.
