GPS tools touted as robbery deterrent
By Allison Schaefers
Advertiser Staff Writer
After a number of bank robberies, some banking officials on O'ahu are considering state-of-the-art Global Positioning System technology to better trace stolen cash and augment exploding dye packs.
The island's latest bank robbery occurred yesterday at the Waipahu branch of City Bank, bringing the total number of bank robberies on O'ahu to 21 so far this year. In 2002, there were 39 bank robberies on O'ahu, said Lt. Raymond Quon of the Honolulu Police Department.
Yesterday's robbery was the fourth on O'ahu this month — and the sixth in the past six weeks, police said.
For the first six months of the year, Honolulu had 16 bank robberies — double the eight that took place during the first half of last year, Quon said. That spike was a concern to police and banking officials because the number of bank robberies on O'ahu has remained relatively stagnant for the past three years. There were 32 bank robberies in 2000 and 2001, and 39 last year, according to police statistics.
It's too soon to tell whether there will be an overall increase in 2003, said Det. Letha DeCaires, CrimeStoppers coordinator. Police often see huge discrepancies in monthly bank robbery totals, she said.
"It's not unusual to have some months with zero bank robberies and other months, like last October, where there were eight robberies," DeCaires said. "My guess would be that it's going to be a bigger year than others, but you never can tell."
Robbers made off with $52,705 from O'ahu's banks in 2002, and Quon said that police solve about 90 percent of bank robbery cases on O'ahu each year.
For more than a decade, Hawai'i banks have successfully used exploding dye packs in bundles of money to help foil robberies. Some packs simply stain the cash and possibly the robber. Others are more sophisticated and can emit powerful nerve gas or ignite.
GPS technology won't replace dye packs, but it will probably be just as revolutionary for bank security, said George Cramer, director of security for Bank of Hawaii.
Cramer said the bank has not been a frequent robbery target, but he's interested in any technology that might reduce the odds of such a crime. Advertiser records show that Bank of Hawaii has been robbed four times this year.
He is among the banking officials talking to police about the merits of GPS technology, which would allow officials to trace the path of stolen money over the Internet.
An Arizona-based company came to Hawai'i last month to demonstrate how Honolulu police and banks could install GPS devices in the money packs. The technology remains relatively untested, however, and Honolulu banking officials aren't sure what the cost would be.
GPS technology represents "a next generation kind of thing," said Cramer, who said he was impressed with the product when he saw it demonstrated at a bank security conference in Arizona last October.
Quon said HPD has requested more information from U.S. Currency Protection Corporation of Fountain Hills, Ariz., and wants to see the technology at work.
Security officials at American Savings Bank, where Advertiser records show about half of the 21 robberies so far this year occurred, declined to comment on their use of GPS or any other security technology.
Brandt Farias, the marketing director for First Hawaiian Bank, said the bank isn't looking at using GPS technology, but has several policies in place "to ensure the safety of our customers, employees and assets."
Advertiser archives show there have been three robberies at First Hawaiian Bank this year.
