Watch CBS News

Bank Robberies Spike In Chicago Area In 2016

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The number of bank robberies in the Chicago area and northern Illinois has skyrocketed in the past year.

The FBI said there were 138 bank robberies in the Chicago area and northern Illinois in 2015. As of Friday morning, here had been 184 of them in 2016.

The record year for bank robberies was 2006, which had 284 hold-ups.

"Many of the bank robberies that are occurring, we can attribute to maybe 5 to 10 bank robbers that are committing multiple bank robberies in the Chicagoland area," said FBI special agent Garrett Croon.

According to Croon, the economy or buying Christmas presents are "myths" about why bank robbers do what they do. He said those excuses do not play any role in bank robberies.

"Bank robbers rob banks for one or a multiple of three reasons: drugs, alcohol, and gambling," he said.

Croon said bank robberies increase in the cold weather months when it's easy for robbers to get away with bundling up and showing less of their faces. He would not say how many bank robbers get arrested, but he said the public can help catch the ones who have not been caught by first checking out pictures on bandittrackerchicago.com.

"If you recognize somebody on that website, or you think you know who one of the picture is, telephone the FBI or email the FBI. If you want to remain anonymous, you can do so," he said.

Tips about Chicago area bank robberies can be reported to the FBI at 312-421-6700, or the Bandit Tracker website.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.