Building A Better Bank-Robber Trap

Banks and other financial institutions around the country are taking note of entrance-control systems that promise to catch bank robbers as they try to flee and keep them there until help arrives.

A caging system at the front door makes it virtually impossible for the robber, or anyone else, to get away.

“As soon as the robber walks through of the interior door, he’s pretty much locked in,” said Tim Julian, who helped design a caging system for Baltimore-based International Security Inc. “When he turns around to look at the interior door, that’s locked, too.”

The doors that shut are also bulletproof, making it impossible for the bandit to shoot his way out. In addition, the trap also acts as a preventive measure. A metal detector tuned to seek out handguns activates the doors the moment such a weapon is detected.

Pittsburgh-based Mellon Bank became the first bank to install a type of cage in 1994. Now 12 Mellon branches are using them and another six may be installed by year-end, bank spokesman Jim Dever said.

“We believe they are the best deterrent,” Dever said. “We have caught three people to date.”