Bank robberies are all the rage in New York, as the NYPD reports that bank robberies are up 148%. The Post reports that most robberies took place in Manhattan, and robbers' main weapons of intimidation (like bulletproof teller windows, visible video cameras, etc.) were threatening voices and notes. In order to scare banks into taking the NYPD's advice about robbery prevention more seriously, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had police rank banks by the number of robberies:
Easy bank robbery targets: Commerce and North Fork
Safest banks: SI Bank & Trust, Astoria Federal Saving, Bank of New York and Citibank
And the Daily News reports today about how a Harlem mother who made her 12 year old son rob a bank of $30,000 will not serve anytime under plea deals with the D.A. Tamara Davis conspired with a bank teller, and had her 5-foot-5, 175-pound son go the bank wih a note, "Give me $30,000 or I will shoot you." While Commissioner Kelly is very unhappy with deal, "It will only encourage others to attempt bank robberies," the Daily News also adds the police "did not realize that the man-size robber was a child - but then they noticed he was wearing socks featuring the Nickelodeon cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants."
