WEBVTT - Why Shouldn't I Rob A Bank?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Christian Sager. Welcome to brain Stuff. Little note first,

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<v Speaker 1>I only agreed to do this episode about bank robbing

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<v Speaker 1>if I could make references to all of my favorite

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<v Speaker 1>heist films. We've all seen bank robberies in movies like

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<v Speaker 1>Point Break or Heat, and I'll admit I've got a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit of an addiction to the video game pay

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<v Speaker 1>Day two. But moral quandries aside, bank robbers have often

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<v Speaker 1>been romanticized throughout history, especially during times of economic instability.

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<v Speaker 1>Just think of Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, and Jesse James.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's no wonder that across the United States, people

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<v Speaker 1>from various walks of life have occasionally thought, why shouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>I rob a bank? Let me stop you right there, slick.

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<v Speaker 1>There are several reasons you shouldn't, even if you think

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<v Speaker 1>you have the perfect plan. First, it is dangerous. Completely

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<v Speaker 1>innocent people could and do die in robberies. Criminals in

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<v Speaker 1>this town used to believe in things on her respect.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's also obviously illegal, not some wishy washy blue

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<v Speaker 1>law kind of illegal like selling beer on a Sunday. Either,

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<v Speaker 1>it is a straight up felony. The average sentence for

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<v Speaker 1>federal bank robbery, which means robbing any f D I

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<v Speaker 1>C member bank, can vary widely depending on several factors.

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<v Speaker 1>In the US, these factors are outlined under Title eighteen,

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<v Speaker 1>Section two one one three of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

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<v Speaker 1>Was anyone injured? How much money did the criminals take?

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<v Speaker 1>Were weapons involved? These factors add up quickly, and when

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<v Speaker 1>the robbers are caught, they can be looking at decades

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<v Speaker 1>in jail. Not to mention the findes. Notice that I

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<v Speaker 1>said when they're caught, not if that's the second thing.

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<v Speaker 1>If you rub a bank, you will probably get caught.

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<v Speaker 1>According to the Department of Justice, the FBI's clearance rank

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<v Speaker 1>for a bank robbery is nearly sixty and about half

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<v Speaker 1>of those are solved within thirty days. It makes sense

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<v Speaker 1>when you think of about the typical bank robbery. Of

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<v Speaker 1>the five thousand and fourteen US bank robberies that took

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<v Speaker 1>place in eleven most occurred during the day, meaning there

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<v Speaker 1>were multiple witnesses. The police are notified as quickly as possible,

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<v Speaker 1>and it is a safe bet that there's photographic evidence too.

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<v Speaker 1>Tuesdays and Fridays are the most popular days of the

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<v Speaker 1>week for a bank robbery, and most robbers are total amateurs.

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<v Speaker 1>More than eighty percent have no prior convictions for bank crime,

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<v Speaker 1>and eight percent operate alone using predictable patterns. These guys

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<v Speaker 1>don't imagine a fellow smarter than themselves and try to

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<v Speaker 1>think what would he do. These criminals are often apprehended

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<v Speaker 1>on the same day of the robbery, and banks are

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<v Speaker 1>full of strategies for catching them, including exploding die packs.

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<v Speaker 1>But let's say you've already thought of that, right. You've

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<v Speaker 1>seen heist films like Oceans eleven or The Joker Heist

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<v Speaker 1>in the Dark Night, and you know that a well

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<v Speaker 1>organized team can mean the difference between early retirement in

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<v Speaker 1>the Caymans or a long bid in sing Sing. Professional

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<v Speaker 1>bank robbers ten operating crews using weapons and stolen vehicles,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's true that a crew can up your chances

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<v Speaker 1>of a successful heist. Teams can divide the robbery tasks

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<v Speaker 1>and also tend to spend more time on planning and reconnaissance.

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<v Speaker 1>This strategy can lead to a larger overall take. A

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<v Speaker 1>study by several British economists found that quote every extra

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<v Speaker 1>member of the gang raises the expected value of the

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<v Speaker 1>robbery proceeds by nine thousand and thirty three pounds or

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<v Speaker 1>fifteen thousand, two hundred and twelve dollars. But keep in

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<v Speaker 1>mind that the hall per person will go down with

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<v Speaker 1>each new member still set on a career in heists,

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<v Speaker 1>Remember you can't let yourself get attached to anything you

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<v Speaker 1>are not willing to walk out on in thirty seconds

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<v Speaker 1>flat if you feel the heat around the corner. Are

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<v Speaker 1>the terrible odds, the legal consequences, and the risk to

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<v Speaker 1>innocent life not enough to dissuade you? Well? Consider this

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<v Speaker 1>last fact. Bank robberies don't actually make that much money.

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<v Speaker 1>According to the study I just mentioned, the average return

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<v Speaker 1>on a bank heist in the UK is about nineteen thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>seven hundred dollars per person per heist. In the US

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<v Speaker 1>it's even worse, a bit over four thousand dollars in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand nine. While that might sound like a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of scratch, it's not enough to set you up for life.

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<v Speaker 1>As of the current US poverty threshold is an annual

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<v Speaker 1>income of eleven thousand, four ninety dollars for one person.

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<v Speaker 1>This means you would have to rob three banks a

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<v Speaker 1>year and keep all of the loot just to stay

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<v Speaker 1>out of the poorhouse. Hardly a glamorous lifestyle. Of course,

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<v Speaker 1>this doesn't mean that heist movies aren't cool, just that

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<v Speaker 1>you shouldn't try them at home or in a bank.

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<v Speaker 1>Check out the brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and thousands of other topics, visit how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff works dot com.