SILENT ALARM RESPONSE

[Music] if you work in a financial institution or work as a law enforcement officer the possibility that you will be confronted by a bank robber like these is getting closer every day there are more than six thousand bank robberies every year and the number is increasing significantly as you can see robbers come in all shapes and sizes some are men with disguises and some are women with disguises some pass notes some claim to have bombs and some do have bombs some work alone and some work in groups and all of them are potentially violent if an actual robbery does occur how you act may influence the safety of everyone involved and could affect the ultimate capture of the robbers when it happens it'll be fast and frightening inside you'll be surprised and scared and that's going to affect how you respond how you react to a robbery is going to be determined by how well you prepared yourself to respond with control ultimately the key will be a plan developed between financial institutions and law enforcement agencies for a safe silent alarm response the truth is just like in law enforcement routine is a large part of day-to-day operations isn't it the same transactions are made over and over same people are seen over and over it's easy to fall into a routine and that's exactly what robbers are looking for when they case a financial institution before a robbery besides learning the building layout they observe which employees see most inexperienced or most easily intimidated robbers also want to know if the managers stagger their lunches or breaks it's worth remembering that a lone robber or note passer usually wants to commit the robbery with the least disturbance possible did you want that in cash he wants to know how alert you are to what's going on around you is it part of your routine to periodically scan the customers if it is it may be just enough to scare off a potential note passer the rule of course is to observe the unusual personnel should look for strangers who loiter or people dressed in an odd way for the weather or wearing something that could be a disguise or a person in line who becomes more nervous as he gets closer to the teller in oregon the teller had pushed the suspicion button and activated the surveillance cameras the day before for three reasons a nervous stranger dressed in an odd way and someone with an empty paper bag she had once seen photographs like these and she remembered all those paper bags and in this case the teller was right in case they should get lost or stolen okay thank you all right bye-bye i'm sorry i don't understand spanish money obviously she could have been wrong but the point is that unless you remain alert for the unusual you are not really prepared to prevent robbers or assist law enforcement in their capture is it your habit to be alert or not only two people will know for sure you and a potential robber can i help you are you going fishing today no i'm sticking up your bank there's a bomb in this tackle box and it's going to go off if you don't do exactly what i say do you understand that yes fine i want you to open your cash drawer take out all your tens and twenties put them in a bag and give them to me i don't want any funny money i don't want any dye packs i don't want any problems just do it as was said earlier during a robbery you're going to be scared and if you're not prepared you're going to make mistakes in illinois the teller was afraid to give out bait money she forgot to activate the silent alarm even when it was safe come on hurry up in texas none of the employees had the presence of mind to activate the law okay do you know how your alarm system works [Music] are you confident that you could activate your alarm system or the surveillance cameras without arousing suspicion or having to hunt for buttons if not experience has shown that when the time comes you'll either forget or be too scared to try and you'll never get another opportunity for a surveillance photo like this may i help you fill it up fill it up not the coins just the bills nobody moves not you them fill it up one of the main reasons many employees fail to activate the alarm is the fear inside that police officers will burst in and there will be a shootout in many cases police officers have rushed in on a bank robbery in progress come on let's go after responding to hundreds of false alarms it's easy to see why many officers stop believing that the next one could be the real thing some institutions even encourage this kind of response because they feel a high profile by the police is helpful in reality it's only helpful to the robber who awaits anyone who might try to block his escape hi hi you have a problem with your alarm on other occasions an improperly planned police response has resulted in other outcomes for example in ohio police trapped this man who claimed to have a bomb with him he seized hostages for 21 hours including the officer on the lower right and all the employees in rhode island this bank official was held hostage when the police rushed in and in georgia this man was pistol-whipped by a robber who became irrational when he merely saw the police outside the point of course is to make sure there's been a plan developed between each financial institution and each local law enforcement agency to coordinate a safe response to prevent this in responding safely to a silent alarm invisible deployment tactics are utilized we have a silent alarm prominent federal savings alone 3756 central for maximum safety and control at least two officers are deployed for the response unit 147 147 brockton and nelson 147 a silent alarm provident federal savings 3756 central 3756 central 147 10-4 unit 148 assists you know 148-10-4 the goal is to reach the location with maximum speed and minimum detection from inside the institution officers respond with emergency lights on but no siren because the sound could panic the robbers into acting irrationally avoid squealing tires as you round corners or skidding to a stop both will telegraph your approach and arrival you know 147 to know 148 go ahead 147 i'll take the northwest corner from central you cover the southeast corner from the alley [Applause] you know 148.104. each officer approaches an assigned position while in route you'll want to scan the area for suspicious pedestrians or vehicles leaving the scene begin slowing your speed several blocks from the location this will reduce engine noise break noise and allow additional time to control your response unit 148 in position at the southeast corner of the building as each patrol vehicle is positioned emergency lights are turned off and the radio is turned down your final position will allow for maximum cover and maximum observation of the building by remaining undetected on the perimeter you and your backup avoid causing the robber to panic two officers can safely cover all four sides of the building here's how it works by deploying at diagonally opposite corners the first responding officer maintains a visual on the front and one side the backup officer covers the rear and the remaining side this tactic allows for total surveillance of the exterior without creating a crossfire problem once in position notify communications of the status of your response and any suspect movement unit 147 to 148 i've got total vision of the front and the west sides of the building 148 104 for my position i have view of the east and south side of the building and the parking lot now in some cases officers can see inside here the robber walked over to a window and surrendered but most of the time your ability to see inside is very limited nobody move the benefit of invisible deployment is the opportunity to reduce the threat to your life and the lives of those inside and to enhance the possibility of capture if they're in there you won't have long to wait as you can see invisible deployment often works please don't move put your hands up put them off drop the bag where the robber exits and decides to take on the police invisible deployment also works outside civilians are less likely to become a hostage outside you're in the best position to respond to the offenders actions and use the element of surprise to your advantage now when officers respond they have no idea if it's in progress all over or a false alarm in some robberies officers who initially were invisibly deployed gave up their position of cover to get a closer look as we've said before many buildings offer limited visibility from the outside unfortunately a few officers have forgotten that often from the inside give me all that money come on the robber may have an excellent view of every move that's made including the officer's last one [Applause] in another robbery the officer remembered that it's safest to approach without being seen from inside but he forgot another rule bank robbers often have their own backups on the outside in this case the officer discovered too late that he could not control two entrances at once the rule remains don't become too visible too quickly in these situations you be the judge the tactic you will want to employ is to maintain your observation of the objective then have communications call into the institution to verify the status unit 148 148 go ahead unit 148 call redlands federal savings and ascertain the circumstances inside unit 148.10 standby if anything appears unusual officers in the field are notified immediately the safest verification approach is for the dispatcher to talk directly to a supervisor preferably the security officer redlands federal savings mr dan goring please hello mr goring you appear to be having some problems with your phone lines can you check those for us you know i've already checked them uh we did have a problem with the alarm system this morning and with all the confusion i forgot to call who's this by the way this is mrs johnson with the riverside police department apparently you've set off your alarm officers have responded to the location and are outside now we'd like for you to go out front and meet the officers what will you be wearing sir sure i'm on a light three-piece brown suit with brown tie a light yellow shirt with brown shoes regardless of what is said to the dispatcher over the telephone maintain cover until you are contacted in person by a supervisor mr gearing i want you to move towards the sound of my voice put your hands out in the open so i can see you keep moving forward in all cases the signal is a supervisor proceeding to your position of cover where he identifies himself officer i'm dan gearing the branch manager okay mr gehring i'd like you to very slowly open your coat up so i can see inside of it ultimately this is the only real indicator of what's happening inside a proper verification procedure is followed on every silent alarm response otherwise the dispatcher may identify herself at the wrong time to the wrong person hello this is police department did you know your silent alarm's gone off again no [ __ ] i didn't know that but now that i do i have all the bank employees on the floor i don't want any hassles if i see a cop out front i'll blow a [ __ ] in the street nobody move i said nobody move during an actual robbery people inside will be frightened but will you remember to stay calm not to resist or to play hero it's a good idea this man killed a teller who started screaming this man shot an employee who was reaching for a telephone this man shot a customer who refused to lie on her stomach and this man attacked a security officer who had taunted him regardless of the circumstances or how scared you become every employee has definite responsibilities number four do it number two go everybody get down get down on the ground now the other ground face down don't move 30 seconds her get the money out it goes in the bag if possible make sure that bait money is included you also want to activate the alarm when safe to do so get back get down on the ground face down face down 45 seconds don't look up just as important you want to be observant what are they touching what do they look like what do their firearms look like i told you to stay down and what are they saying one minute without staring you should attempt to get a mental picture of each robber try to remember face body clothing and any special behavior or visible scars one minute 15 seconds if you're an off-duty officer caught inside remember you won't have a good position or access to communications and may be outnumbered your role is to be the best possible witness and no more one thirty in this robbery only one out of three bothered to study the lookout would you have or would you fail to get a description because you spent your time thinking about disarming the robber that's it let's go until the robbers are all the way out the door nobody moves everybody stays down obviously if a shooting does start the safest place to be is right where you are on the floor keeping low but when they are gone what are your responsibilities do you know did you know you should activate the alarm again in case it failed the first time or in case no one activated it debbie call the police and stay on the line with them if you're the designated supervisor maintain a low position as you move national bank 10301 magnolia just a moment please license is three four no two three four six eight california license two three four six eight it's a blue chevrolet truck it's a blue chevy truck has spoke wheels with spoked wheels would you hold just a moment the employee designated to call the police should stay on the line until officers enter if it's safe the senior supervisor should attempt to convey a description of the vehicle and its direction of travel robbers can be apprehended when a good vehicle description is available even though the police cannot always get there within two minutes being observant can be of great value when the suspects are gone the doors to each entrance are locked this helps prevent the robbers from re-entering grab your attention please please don't speak amongst yourselves please remain where you are don't touch anything dorothy and mark you please protect those areas where the robbers might have touched will you all remain here until the police arrive the next step is to make sure that areas of primary suspect movement are safeguarded valuable physical evidence such as a shoe print can be easily secured like this in this incident the robber dropped money in front of the teller stations notice how the area was secured here an observant witness spotted the robber's hat would you have secured the area before someone touched the evidence every witness should fill out a suspect description form without discussing it with others and while memories are still fresh inside there may be those who can't stay the best procedure is to gather information on how they can be contacted later yes there's a meeting i've got attention i won't be able to stay i'd like to keep you if at all possible well i'm late and i do have to leave you have a business card yes i do you can get a hold of me at this number is that also your home phone yes it is thank you very much sorry for the income no problem another reason to make a record of everyone who leaves is to assist the police in detecting a possible accomplice someone posing as a customer to ensure a safe escape for the robbers outside the first responding officer will wait for the supervisor's approach mr marsh the police are here now inside many institutions use a brightly colored placard to signal when it's safe to enter but on the outside caution is again used to verify the supervisor's identity first okay real good mr marsh are there any injuries no there's not okay i have a few questions i'd like to ask you we can go inside if you'd like could you follow me please as the primary officer enters other officers assist in maintaining control outside command presence at the scene is crucial part of your job is to request additional officers to enter and conduct individual interviews with witnesses this provides the best objectivity okay mr marsh before we start is there any physical evidence that i should be made aware of here tellers were too frightened to explain what they saw because of all the confusion usually only one officer is necessary to interview a witness some witnesses will be in a highly emotional state after a robbery take your time and ask specific questions okay just take your time but i need for you to describe as best you can exactly what you saw in the suspects that you can describe okay i saw one with the brown ski mask a petite type jacket and denim jeans okay about how tall was he about five nine or five ten can you give me the vehicle description again was a blue chevy pickup truck approximately what year late 69 early 70s what shade of blue medium blue was there anything distinguishable about the vehicle nothing except it had a sunroof okay i have all their names and statements so i'm through with them fine good okay can i go now you're through with this yes sir we've completed our initial investigation at this point it's also important that witnesses be able to contact investigating officers should they recall important details later please call me at this number after a robbery a crowd will probably gather including the news media it's best not to release information about the amount taken nor should you release the names of witnesses do you understand that [ __ ] don't get cute i don't want to have to use this go ahead go in the absence of cooperation between financial institutions and law enforcement time and time again the outcome of a robbery has resulted in needless bloodshed come on hurry come on remember this robberies are on the increase the amount of time for a police response is on the decrease keep your hands on the counter i want to use this if you're a law enforcement officer the opportunity to respond to any robbery in progress and get there before the offender leaves is greater than ever the question is when the people inside know what they should be doing will you also respond safely 44 codes advise on an ambulance go through it ambulance code 3 487 report savoy hotel room 21 45 clear location for me citizens request a cab at 12 35 castillo street will be the church on the corner roger 44 clear station 46 respond to 555 west pueblo apartment number 16 contact the rp mckinney in regards to suspicious circumstances roger 541 41 information uh we're starting to get a lot of runoff on eucalyptus hill all right commander when you coming roger 43 uh 43 does your right of one what a hell that lobby didn't roger two district cards i don't want to end with two little lobby send an ambulance code to this location ready you