Bank's new security door to trap robbers
Posted by Manny Urbina on Tue, Nov 06, 2007
Branch held up twice this year
By Bill Wolfe
bwolfe@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
A Chase bank branch that was robbed twice this year hopes to slam the door on armed robbers with a weapons-detecting entrance that scans customers with a metal detector and automatically locks out anyone carrying a gun.
Chase began work on the new vestibule Saturday at its 4038 Poplar Level Road branch, where two employees were shot in August during a robbery.
Carlos Ordway, 27, of Louisville, was indicted last month on two counts of assault, a count of robbery and a count of being a persistent felony offender in connection with the robbery.
The same branch was robbed April 10, with no injuries. Tshepo Tsambo of Middletown was charged in August with that and several other area bank robberies.
The maker of the new security device says another bank in the Louisville area has bought several units, but declined to identify it.
Fifth Third Bank spokeswoman Gail Lyttle said that company is considering installing the security entrances. National City Bank, Louisville's largest, would not discuss security measures. PNC and Republic Bank said they have no plans at present to use the devices.
The entrances are widely used in larger cities such as Chicago and Detroit, according to Chase spokeswoman Nancy Norris. Her bank has 29 in place nationwide, including in Indianapolis and Dayton, Ohio.
The Poplar Level Road installation is Chase's first in Louisville, Norris said. "It's not something we do in every branch. We make our decisions based on the history at the bank and other risk factors," such as the area's crime statistics.
So far this year, there have been 36 bank robberies in Louisville, compared with 38 at this time a year ago, said Officer Phil Russell, a Louisville Metro Police spokesman.
Construction at Chase's Poplar Level branch will take about two weeks, and the system will be activated two or three weeks later, once Chase explains it to customers, Norris said.
Customers will be required to enter the vestibule one at a time—though a child may enter with an adult—and shut the outside door before opening the interior door. Norris said the enclosure also "acts as a metal detector. If you are carrying heavy metal, the second door will not open. And in fact, the first door won't open to let you back out again, either."
Chase policy prohibits unauthorized weapons, so customers carrying guns will not be allowed in, even if they hold a gun permit, Norris said. Police officers would be admitted after showing identification.
The mechanism shouldn't be triggered by cell phones, loose change or even rolls of coins, she said. Items such as a large pocket knife or metal containers of breath mints could set off the system.
Bank workers can override the system and open the door for customers who show that a harmless object has set off the device. Otherwise, "we have the option of not letting you in, and instead, just simply letting you out," Norris said.
The trapping function is "all part of the safety and security. If a real bank robber carrying a gun cannot get in, we don't want them taking out their frustrations in the parking lot," Norris said.
Randy Thompson, who owns CT Haircutters at 4200 Poplar Level Road across from the Chase branch, said he visits the bank daily and welcomes the innovation.
"The more safety, the better," he said, adding that while going through the security doors may not be as convenient as open access, "I'd rather be safe than sorry."
In other cities where Chase has used the security entrances, "they reduce crime, most importantly violent bank robberies," Norris said, although she could not provide any numbers.
She noted that the devices only go at branches where there have been problems, "and at those branches it has helped tremendously to make our employees and customers safe."
Louisville Metro Police could not comment on the effectiveness of the entrances, Russell said. "We do not discuss bank security procedure. We feel it's a safety issue, where we just do not release information."
The security entrances originated in Europe and have been appearing more in the United States, said Manuel Urbina, president of NovaComm of Kissimmee, Fla., which makes some of the entrances used at Chase branches.
"We have over 600 units already installed in U.S. and Puerto Rico," Urbina said. The company began production in 1995, but the market began growing rapidly after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, he said.
The systems typically cost from about $50,000 to $100,000 to buy and install, Urbina said, and are sold through distributors such as Diebold, which handles the Chase purchases.
Reporter Bill Wolfe can be reached at (502) 582-4248.
NovaComm, Inc.
www.novaacu.com
info@novaacu.com