Until recently, most Pacific Palisades residents didn’t know what ‘bandit barriers’ were. But after suffering four robberies in the span of two months, the Palisades community is speaking up and requesting heightened security at its banks. On April 29, Community Council vice-chairman Kurt Toppel sent a letter on behalf of the council to Bank of America corporate offices, asking that they ‘consider additional security measures such as the installation of ‘bandit barriers’ as a signal to our community that Bank of America cares and does what it can to enhance the well-being of customers and citizens at large.’ Bandit barriers are the bulletproof glass barriers on teller windows. The Palisades Bank of America branch on Sunset was robbed twice in March. One of these incidents involved a suspect who attached what he claimed was an explosive device to a female teller, and collected money from several tellers before fleeing the scene. The council decided to address bank safety following an LAPD Senior Lead Officer Summit in Brentwood in early April. Five council members and other concerned citizens attended this summit and were given updates on crime statistics, then asked to identify key problem areas. Toppel led the bank robbery action committee, which consisted of Senior Lead Officer Chris Ragsdale and 11 Palisades residents. Ragsdale told them that even though the Palisades had already suffered four commercial robberies this year, its overall crime was down 10 percent this year, after a 20-percent decline in 2004. Ragsdale said that the LAPD has suggested that Palisades banks install ‘bandit barriers’ to prevent further robberies, but that ‘some banks are resistant because the community is not receptive…it makes the bank look bad or appear more dangerous.’ The Community Council discussed this issue at its April 28 meeting and voted to bring the community’s concerns to Bank of America, as a start. ‘Based on substantial background information, the key conclusion of our group was that security in banks should be increased in order to deter would-be criminals and to reduce crime,’ Toppel wrote in his letter. ”Bandit Barriers’ were considered by LAPD to be the most effective devices.’ A copy of the letter was also sent to Ashley Gatlin, the new branch manager at the Bank of America. Tom Applebee of B of A’s corporate security office told the Palisadian-Post this week, ‘We have an armed security officer in front of the [Palisades] banking center now and we have also converted the rear door into an emergency exit only, which means that people cannot enter through that door; they can only exit that door during cases of emergency such as fire or earthquake. ‘That’s probably the extent that we’re going to go to at this particular time for security measures, not to say that a ‘bandit barrier’ is not a possibility down the road, but it’s just not on the table right at the moment.’ Applebee added that he had not seen a copy of Toppel’s letter. Meanwhile, the Palisades branch of Citibank on Sunset is planning to install ‘bandit barriers,’ according to manager Patrick Mautner. He said last Thursday that the bank was recently measured for bulletproof glass barriers, though he was not certain when they would be installed. ‘Several customers have made comments in favor of them,’ Mautner said. He added that the branch was first measured for ‘bandit barriers’ last year, following ‘a couple of incidents [of crime]’ at the bank. However, the bank opted not to install the barriers at that time. Following a ‘demand note’ robbery April 4, the Palisades Citibank reconsidered. The incident, in which an armed suspect approached a teller and demanded money, came just 10 days after the second Bank of America robbery and five days after an armed robbery at Mort’s Deli.
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