Bank robbers in Massachusetts will have more time to contemplate their crimes if a bill being pushed by the Massachusetts Bankers Association becomes law.
The legislation was introduced this month by Rep. James Vallee, a Democrat, and would sentence first-time bank robbers who pass a note to a teller to at least 30 months behind bars. Those using a disguise, claiming to have a weapon, or brandishing one would face sentences of at least five years.
The bill's passage would make Massachusetts the third state to impose mandatory sentences for bank robbery. West Virginia has a minimum sentence of 10 years for bank robberies made "by force or violence," and in June of last year Washington State instituted a law requiring a jail term of 31 months for first-time bank robbers.
Daniel J. Forte, the Massachusetts Bankers Associations president and chief executive officer, said the minimum sentences are necessary for two reasons.
First, many robbers hold up several banks before being caught but are treated as first-time offenders. So serial criminals get light sentences despite having committed multiple crimes. Second, though federal sentencing is tougher than the states' - averaging eight to 12 years - first-time robbers are often tried in state courts, which are usually more lenient.
The legislation grew out of a task force formed by the Massachusetts Bankers Association in response to a 70% rise in bank robberies from 2000 to 2001.
Last year robberies of banks, credit unions, and armored cars fell 15%, to 225. The task force of bankers, law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors made several recommendations to banks -- including posting signs asking customers to remove hats, sunglasses, and hoods inside banks. Mr. Forte said the recommendations have helped; they were issued in the middle of 2002, and at that time the number of bank robberies in the state was about the same as in 2001, and then dropped.
This year, though, there have already been about 100 robberies in the state, which prompted the association to include the mandatory sentences in its legislative recommendations for 2003.
Mathew Street, an associate general counsel for the American Bankers Association, said bank robbery is its own crime category in just five states: Michigan, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. In the rest it falls under a general robbery category.
Mr. Street said the laws that Washington and West Virginia have adopted may become more common now that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has historically handled most bank robberies, is devoting itself more to fighting terrorism. And he said the publicity the Vallee bill gets as it moves through the legislative process may act as a deterrent.
"You do draw attention to this and maybe this is the time to do this," Mr. Street said.
