Fall bank robberies

Sharp decline in bank robberies, lowered into 2014 and compared to the year before, 80.8% in the province of Florence, and 87.5% in the capital.

Even more positive results when compared with the national decline, which amounted to less 37%.

“Dati sorprendenti – ha commentato il Prefetto Luigi Varratta – che confermano quanto sia importante lavorare sulla prevenzione e ci incoraggia a proseguire sulla via della sinergia operativa tra le forze dell’ordine e gli istituti di credito che funziona”.

It was with this goal has been renovated in recent days in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi protocol to combat crime in the bank signed between the Prefecture, the national coordinator OSSIF, research center ABI Safety Crime, Marco Iaconis and delegates 35 credit institutions of the province, attended by senior provincial law enforcement: il Questore Raffaele Micillo, il Colonnello Marco Lorenzoni dei Carabinieri e il Generale Leandro Cuzzocrea della Guardia di Finanza.

The agreement, signed the first time in 2009 and subsequently renewed, immediately coincided with a decline in robberies, trend confirmed in the last two years of implementation: while in 2013 bank robberies carried out across the province have been 26 (where di 16 in Florence), in 2014 fell to 5 (where di 2 in the capital).

The edition 2015 the pact strengthens the operational guidelines already adopted in previous versions and remains committed to each dependency bank to acquire at least five security measures including those that are suggested by the protocol: compass, metal detector, Biometric detector, video surveillance, video registration, anticamuffamento system, counter armored, device valuables with delayed opening and timed delivery of money, staining and traceability of banknotes, vigilance and panic alarm.

Much attention is also paid to the protection of ATMs; among the new features this year was included the ability to use hardware and / or software to better protect the equipment components that interact with ATM card.

The relationship banks-law enforcement remains a cornerstone of the Protocol: gli istituti di credito segnaleranno alle centrali di polizia quelle situazioni che possono metterli in condizioni di rischio, as breakdowns in the plant protection, suspicious movements of people inside and outside, cash on hand is not ordinary.

In this regard, "the protocol is an example of successful cooperation between the public and the private world - commented Marco Iaconis - which sees the excellent action of the police and investment banks on the security front".

The experience of success with this protocol have allowed OSSIF also create an Observatory intersectoral involving items, pharmacies and tobacconists (others at risk robbery) and the Criminal Analysis Service of the Department of Public Safety to share information and operational strategies.

A focus, at last, is aimed at training the employees at the counters: guidelines, made by Abi with law enforcement, encoded behavioral practices appropriate to the different circumstances of risk, to better ensure the safety of staff and customers and also to provide a valuable aid to the police in identifying robbers.

Michael Lattanzi

By the number 56 - Year II 18/03/2015