WASHINGTON — The FBI and local police are trying to end a trend they say takes place every year in December — bank robberies.
“Bank robberies increased over the past two years, they’ve tripled in number in the month of December as compared to other months,” said Andrew Ames, spokesman with the FBI’s Washington field office.
This December has been no different.
The FBI had put out a warning to local police departments and banks ahead of December. But despite ramped-up efforts to deter this type of crime, there have been at least 17 in the area so far.
The latest took place on Friday Dec. 19 at the BB&T on Route 50 in Chantilly and on Monday, Dec. 22 at the Burke and Herbert Bank on Smoketown Road in Woodbridge, Va.,
“Bank robberies are an act of desperation,” Ames said, adding that most robbers don’t get away with their crimes. In December 2013, there were 17 robberies, and in 13, the perpetrators were caught.
The FBI has a standing offer, a $5,000 reward for helping to catch a thief. Ames said that is typically more than a bank robbery usually manages to get away with.
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