Key to Bank Robberies: Basic Transportation

In less than a year, I just saw the third report of a bank robber who left on foot after robbing a Jacksonville bank. I don't know what percentage of bank robbers get caught, but all three of the walking bank robbers got away as of the nightly news report. I wonder why that works.


I assume the first thing these robbers do with their haul is buy a car. We're in Jacksonville, so that makes sense. But I wonder if it really works to walk into banks and get away. There's no license plate or road cameras to catch your last moves, and you just find your way into a neighborhood, maybe pick up a bike off someone's porch, and ride off into the sunset, probably right to the car dealership.

Either that, or these walkers just live (possibly temporarily) very close to the banks. I don't know if robbing banks is a homeless kind of thing to do, but I guess if you're a couple months behind on your rent, and there's a bank you can see from your apartment window, the temptation would be to go make a withdrawal. Then circle back as police drive the 20 minutes it takes to get anywhere.

And that might be the key. Because there are only so many main roads, when you rob a bank in Jax, you're bound to be driving TOWARDS a patrol car that's responding to the location. But if you just walk away and go sit in Starbucks (be sure to order something) for an hour, it will all blow over. And you can buy a round of lattes for the folks in the store. Then go buy a car.