Taking preventative measures against crime

Mar 08, 2018 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
I refer to an article in the Kaieteur News dated March 6, 2018 captioned “Plainclothes, traffic cops deployed as investigators battle robberies of bank customers”.
In recent times, there was an increase in the number of robberies carried out on customers who visited commercial banks to conduct business.
Crime Chief Paul Williams has outlined certain preventative measures that the police have undertaken to reduce the number of robberies. He has specifically noted that banks have a major role in assisting to reduce the number of robberies by stating, “The bank needs to carry out a review of the CCTV within the bank itself. See how many persons frequent the bank; whether they are doing transactions or sitting idly. Follow this daily; see how many persons are being robbed. Check to see if they would’ve dealt with a specific teller, you know. There is so much analysis that can be done in order for us to deal with this situation”.
To do this on a daily basis will be very time consuming. In fact, it will be very costly to the Bank to review footage from 8am to 2pm daily. Furthermore, to carry out an analysis on at least twelve cameras from one branch alone would entail manpower to review six hours of footage, because you cannot skip any frame. Everyone who entered the Bank would be considered a suspect until proven otherwise. Although the Banks have a social responsibility towards its customers and must ensure that their customers are safe when conducting business within their environment, the suggestion by the Crime Chief is not feasible.
There are many things that the banks can do to assist their customers, who withdraw large sums of money.
They can advise their customers who withdraw large sums of money to open chequing accounts, instead of walking with cash in those quantities, especially on Friday. They can encourage customers who withdraw large sums of money to pay workers to set up a facility where workers’ salaries will be logged into the Bank. The workers will be either use their ATM card to withdraw cash and those without cards can go into the Bank and do a withdrawal.
The Bank can set up a facility within the Bank, so that customers who are withdrawing large sums of money can enter a secure area and conduct their business out of the view of other customers. It is alleged that tellers inform the criminals which customers withdraw large amounts of money. If that is true, then the bank can institute measures internally which can remove any suspicion.
The Bank can periodically assign a teller to deal with customers who are making and withdrawing large amounts of money in the secure area mentioned. This teller can be removed at any time during the day and replaced by another teller. The reason for this is that no teller should be there for four hours; they should be moved randomly.
At some times, the teller has to make a phone call to another branch to verify a customer’s signature or any other information the teller needs before completing the transaction. The reason for this is that the customer’s account information might be at another branch. I would recommend that that teller should inform his or her supervisor about the information required and the supervisor make the call to ascertain the information and relay the information to the teller. This will remove any suspicion from the teller.
The Banking Association of Guyana should approach the Bank of Guyana to change the banking hours. I strongly recommend that the banking hours should be 8am to 3pm from Monday to Thursday and 8am to 5pm on Friday.
I know that some bank employees might not agree with me, but if employers are encouraged to pay their workers either by cheque or go to the Bank and withdraw their salaries, then the hours of business must be extended to accommodate workers who finish working at 4pm on Friday. That extension will enable workers enough time to arrive at the Bank to conduct their business.
Officers who are contracted by the Bank to undertake security functions must be visible in the banking hall. If they see a person in the area too long, approach the person and politely enquire if they need assistance. Guards on the outside must approach persons who are on the premises of the Bank for extended time and ask if they need assistance. If the guards are suspicious of the person, call the police.
There are systems in place at the Banks where if a customer was robbed after leaving the Bank and the police want to know which teller dealt with the customer, that information can be retrieved in minutes and camera footage will be available to see if the teller in any way acted suspiciously.
The full responsibility should not be up to the bank, customers must also play their part in reducing robberies. Persons who for some reason have to withdraw large sums of money, should have another person with them. Having finished your withdrawal and on your way to exit the Bank, you should, as one of the preventative measures, switch your withdrawal with your escort and have someone pick the person up.
You must know your surroundings; be observant while driving, regularly glance through your rear view mirror to see if you are being followed. If you are, if it is possible, drive to the nearest police station. Do not drive home. Many of us have cell phones; call the police or a friend. Vary your route and the time you visit the Bank.
If you have any suspicion, follow your instincts.
Morris Springer

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