Anyone who has had to leave their bag in a locker, go through two security doors and pass the armed security guard standing at the entrance may be surprised to learn that almost half of the bank robberies in Europe take place in Italy.
The Italian banking union FIBA reports that there were 1,744 bank robberies in Italy in 2009, comprising 42% of the European total, and that being held up is a daily hazard which bank employees face. Most of the robberies took place in Lazio, Piedmont, Veneto and Campania. This shows a difference from 2007, when the majority of robberies took place in Lombardy.
These robberies are usually the work of small-time crooks rather than professional gangs and the weapons most often used are knives, though some robbers have used both fake and real guns. The average haul is €21,000.
The good news is that there has been a fall in the number of bank robberies in Italy in the past two years.
Have you ever gone through security in an Italian bank?
