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Some banks' latest crime-fighting weapon: Customer dress code - OrlandoSentinel.com

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OrlandoSentinel.com Some banks' latest crime-fighting weapon: Customer dress code

By Richard Burnett, Orlando Sentinel 6:44 PM EDT, May 27, 2013 After a series of robberies in recent months, some banks in Longwood have armed themselves with a new crime-fighting weapon they hope will ward off potential crooks: a dress code.

a d ve r t i se m e n t

Their message is simple: no hats, no hoods, no shades — no problem.

This latest "what not to wear" effort — part of an anticrime push organized by Longwood police — is designed to bolster bank security while not offending customers. Those who flout the code by refusing to remove their hats and sunglasses — items often used by robbers to obscure their identities — probably won't be turned away; they'll simply be scrutinized more closely while they're in the bank.

The banking industry says such measures are effective, but the latest dress-code campaign revives a long-running controversy about the legal and customer-service risks of imposing restrictions on what customers can wear into a bank.

The Florida Bankers Association introduced a similar dress-code campaign five years ago and credits it with contributing to a big drop in bank robberies since 2007 — from 362 that year to 214 in 2011, according to the latest FBI figures available.

"We've had more and more banks get on board with it statewide," said Alex Sanchez, the FBA's chief executive officer. "We think it makes a lot of sense, and once you really explain it to customers, they understand how important it is as a safety issue."

But it's not clear how much the dress code contributed to the statewide decrease in bank robberies.

Only about 20 percent of the state's 5,600 bank branches participate in the FBA's program, according to trade-group figures. Nationwide, meanwhile, the number of bank robberies fell 16 percent from 2007 to 2011 — a trend some experts attribute to improvements in security technology and police work.

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Some banks' latest crime-fighting weapon: Customer dress code - OrlandoSentinel.com

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Officer Kevin Tuck, head of public information for the Longwood Police Department, led the recent dress-code campaign in that city, persuading Fairwinds Credit Union, Fidelity National Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Old Florida National Bank, Pinnacle Bank and others to join.

Many have posted official police stickers at the entrances to their Longwood branches, asking patrons to remove any hats, hoods or sunglasses before entering.

"I have no problem with the policy at all," said Donald Willis, an air-conditioning contractor and customer of both Fairwinds and Fidelity National. "I was at Fairwinds recently when a gentleman walked in wearing a baseball cap. They were very polite about it, asked him to take it off, and he did.

It was no big deal.

"I think banks just have to do whatever they have to do nowadays for security."

Tuck said he decided to act last month after four Longwood banks were robbed in 60 days.

"We've seen a recent rise in bank robberies, not only in Central Florida but statewide, and this is a simple way of fighting back to prevent crime," the Longwood police officer said. "We believe these measures will deter a lot of potential robbers, maybe not the most-hardened criminals, but certainly what we call the 'note pushers' who come in to rob a teller."

Some banks, including Chase and Wells Fargo, say they support the police initiative but have stopped short of adopting the "no hats, hoods, sunglasses" dress code.

That may be because such policies have always been dicey propositions for banks as they strive to balance security measures and customer relations, some experts say. Many don't want to appear to be intruding on their customers' sense of personal liberty and, in some cases, freedom of religious expression, because some faiths require certain clothing to be worn in public.

"Banks risk alienating the public, losing customers and potentially running into allegations of discrimination with these kinds of policies," said Kenneth Adams, a professor of criminal justice at the University of Central Florida. "Besides, banks have already hardened their security in many other ways that have led to a big drop in bank robberies in recent years. This dress code thing is just an overreach."

Another cause for concern: The nation's "unbanked" — those people who have little contact with conventional financial institutions and often rely on check-cashing, payday-advance loans and other higher-cost services. A dress code could create yet another obstacle for those banks and consumer advocates who are trying to draw the unbanked into using mainstream financial services.

"I can see where this could be offputting to that clientele," said Bill Mills, director of Bank on Greater Orlando, a United Way program established in February to reach out to the unbanked. "Many times, their biggest issue is they are already intimidated when they walk into a bank, so this could make it even more difficult for them."

Local bankers point out that they do not advocate draconian measures to enforce the dress code; much is left up to bank employees' discretion and common sense as they deal with specific customers and the general public.

"We're a community bank, and we know our customers, people we've done business with for years.

So if they come in wearing a hat, I'm not going to ask them to take it off," said Bill Murphy, senior

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Some banks' latest crime-fighting weapon: Customer dress code - OrlandoSentinel.com

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vice president of Fidelity National Bank of Florida and manager of its Longwood branch, which was robbed in April.

"And if some new customer comes in wearing prescription sunglasses, what am I going to do, ask them to take them off, and they can't see?" Murphy added. "There's no way."

Still, Murphy welcomes the hat-hood-sunglasses policy as another security measure that may help prevent some robberies. His bank already has remote-controlled, magnetically locked entrances; known customers are "buzzed" in, while new ones are greeted personally at the door. The branch also has surveillance cameras and other electronic-security measures.

"This effort by the Longwood police has helped create a heightened awareness in the community," Murphy said. "It's really effective when you see these official police signs on the door. I think it'll make these perpetrators less likely to come to Longwood."

Of course, the new policy would have done Fidelity National's Longwood branch little good when it was robbed last month.

The clean-cut robber was bareheaded and not wearing sunglasses when he parked his bicycle outside the branch's back entrance and a teller let him in. Soft-spoken and polite, he robbed the teller and then fled on the bike.

"Obviously, it's not foolproof," Murphy said, "but we still think it's a good idea." rburnett@tribune.com or 407-420-5256 Copyright Š 2013, Orlando Sentinel

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