FBI: Despite Surges, Bank Robbery Numbers Remain Average in Ozarks

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says despite constant mugshots and surveillance video flashing across television screens, bank robberies are not on the rise. The Kansas City FBI Field Office serves the entire State of Kansas as well as the Western District of Missouri including the Ozarks. A spokeswoman says robberies are happening in spurts such as three or four in a row but there is not an overall increase. The spokeswoman says bank robbers are becoming more organized, often putting in more planning and bringing along an accomplice. Still agents say the number of crooks after customer’s bank's money remains about the same. Since February 4, 2010, robbers targeted at least four Springfield banks. The latest and possibly the strangest involved a man donning a hat, suit, tie and toting a suitcase. Police say the man stole money and a Liberty Bank manager's car on March 29. "He took the vehicle and drove back to his escape vehicle in the employee’s car," Springfield Police Lieutenant Roger Moore said. Officers say he requested to open an account. Then say he handed an employee a demand note. Police officers are looking for a white man who wore a black wig, a black goatee, and had black eyes with swelling underneath them. On March 19, a man robbed the U.S. Bank on East Sunshine with a handgun. They say he waved the weapon and demanded cash from two workers. Then on March 15, prosecutors say 43-year-old Curtis Ralls robbed Empire Bank on North Glenstone. They say he gave a teller a note that said, “I have a gun! Give me the money.” A witness told police he saw the man run behind a nearby Kum-N-Go gas station and drive off in a red Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck with no license plates. A Greene County sheriff’s deputy found the truck and chased the man. Once officers stopped the vehicle, they arrested Ralls. They say they found $1,720 stuffed inside a glove. Just about month earlier -- on February 10 -- Springfield police say two men demanded money from another Empire Bank on North Kansas Expressway. Police say both men were heavily clothed and had gloves which prevented police from finding fingerprints. They say they showed teller’s what looked like a handgun. Six days before that, On February 4, a man with a shotgun got cash from a Great Southern on Campbell. Surveillance video shows Springfield police are not the only agency searching for recent bank robbers. Prosecutors charged Timur Short for robbing Commerce Bank in Joplin on March 24. Prosecutors say Anthony Keifer robbed the First State bank in Webb City. Taney County prosecutors charged Charles Moreland. They say on January 27, he robbed a Great Southern Bank in Branson off Highway 76. Despite all the surveillance and crime scenes, FBI officials say robbery numbers remain about the same. FBI Agents investigated 72 bank robberies in 2007, down to 71 in 2008. There was an increase to 87 bank robberies in 2009. From January 1-March 30, 2010, agents investigated 17 bank robberies. They say that's on track to reach the average amount. KSPR learned Springfield police do not separate their robbery statistics into just bank robberies. The FBI does not separate statistics by a specific city or area. They collect data for the entire field office.