The NYC police commissioner, Ray Kelly, is super annoyed at TD Bank because he says they’re just too easy to rob. In one example of this phenomenon, a robber was thwarted by three Chase branches before successfully robbing a TD Bank. And get this, 17% of this New York City’s bank robberies occurred at TD Bank branches.

What’s the problem? Well, apparently the bank’s friendly atmosphere makes it too easy to rip off. The police want all banks to go back to using bullet-proof glass, install more cameras, and to use counter tops that capture clear fingerprints.

TD Bank says, “We don’t believe saying that we have a disproportionate amount of robberies is a fair portrayal of us.”

Bank robberies in New York City were up 57% last year, a stat that some are blaming on the crappy economy.

Commish Tells TD Bank It Has Too Many Robberies [Gothamist]
(Photo:Morton Fox)

TD sent us the following note regarding this post:

I want to share TD’s view with you about the bandit barriers and what we are actually doing to protect our customers and employees. We do share the concerns of the Commissioner. We continue to evaluate all our security measures, and we take the safety of our customers and employees very seriously. In the meantime we do have additional paid detail at all our New York City stores.

As for he barriers, we strongly believe the bandit barriers are not an effective deterrent. According to the NYPD, almost two-thirds (64%) of all bank robberies in New York City took place at branches equipped with bandit barriers. Plus, not all Employees can be positioned behind the barriers, increasing the likelihood that they – or our Customers – could be subjected to violence or used as potential hostages during an armed robbery.

Rebecca Acevedo
TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank

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