Bank robberies on the rise in Utah, data shows


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SALT LAKE CITY — The rate of bank robberies in Utah has increased over the past few years, according to data from the FBI; and detectives in Salt Lake City are all too aware.

Currently, Salt Lake detectives are trying to find three men who were involved in three different bank robberies on the same day.

"We received three yesterday," Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Robin Heiden said Tuesday. "Just in one day we got three bank robberies, from 12:30 (p.m.) to 3:30 p.m., in a three-hour period."

But the rise in this type of crime isn't isolated to the capitol city. FBI numbers show there were 26 bank robberies in Utah in 2012, compared to 70 in 2013. So far in 2014 — only seven days in to the new year — there have been four bank robberies.

The reason for the increase is still a mystery to police.

"We just don't know why, at this point," Heiden said. "The robbery detectives are very busy right now working the cases."

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The U.S. Bank, off 2200 East and 2100 South, is one of Salt Lake's robbery cases from Monday. FBI officials think the robber is the same man who robbed four other Utah banks in the past month.

The Healthcare Credit Union, off 700 East and South Temple, was also hit Monday. The third bank robbery happened at the Bank of Utah, off 700 South and State Street.

At the Bank of Utah, surveillance cameras snapped pictures of the man who police say demanded money, got it, and then ran away. Chances are customers inside the bank didn't even know what happened

The best way to help catch a criminal, Heiden said, is to be a good witness.

"We would suggest when you go into a bank, to put away your cellphone, kind of be observant of people around you," she said. "Does somebody come in with a hood up? Do they have sunglasses on? Are they acting a little suspicious?"

Don't get involved, Heiden cautioned, because your safety is more important. But if you can get good information, that goes a long way.

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