Pub. 2 2013 Issue 2

open the vault and then sent them back to the restroom. The robber then took the cash from the vault, along with everyone’s clothing, and left. The employees were found scared and embarrassed in the restroom after law enforcement was notified that something was wrong by a concerned customer. No one was physically injured — this time. Holdups can and do happen. However, most bank holdups last only seconds, involve only the limited cash that is exposed in the teller top drawer, and seldom result in injury to the bank employees. A “morning glory robbery” (a holdup that occurs before the bank opens to customers) often lasts much longer and is much more dangerous. In a morning glory robbery the crook must wait for the time lock to expire. During this time, the robber tries to control all employees as they arrive. Because of the necessity to control multiple people over a longer period of time, violence and pain are often used to intimidate the employees. A S THE FIRST EMPLOYEE WALKED FROM THE back of the parking lot toward the bank, a woman carry- ing a gun stepped from behind the bushes near the back door. The robber entered the bank with the employee. The employee was ordered to strip and ordered to go into the restroom. The second employee arrived and noticed the all- clear signal was not set. Thinking it must have been forgotten again, she used her key to enter the bank, where she was met by the robber. She was also ordered to strip and go into the restroom. The other two employees arrived together. They had entered the bank hundreds of mornings without incident. They never looked for the all-clear signal; that was for the first two employees. They couldn’t see inside the bank from the back parking area, so they didn’t notice that no one seemed to be inside. They were also ordered to strip and go into the restroom. When the vault time lock expired, the crook ordered the employees to 10 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s continued on page 12 SECURITY OFFICER’S BY-WORD MORNING OPENING PROCEDURES ARE NECESSARY FOR THE SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES Charles M. Towle, Senior Vice President, Kansas Bankers Surety Company