Evening star., 1932-01-29
Change in Attitude
Toward Crime Urged
To the Editor OF The Star:

To the Editor OF The Star:
Policy holders OF bsnditry insurance
In the District recently paid the under
world gangster $4,000 tribute when
four machine-gun bandits took that
sum from Washington bank. Thf In
surance companies do not and should
not lose. Their losses are prorated
among policy holders. Watch for a
premium increase for this type OF in
surance.
The personnel in the average bank
mas strict instructions to offer no re-
sistance during hold-up. The gang
ster knows this and carries his ma
chine gun to overcome resistance from
outside and unexpected sources over
which the bank has no control. This
policy OF non-resistance and absolute
reliance on insurance replacing money
losses has made bank banditry easy,
while insurance costs are mounting
higher and higher. On January IL,
1882, the premium rate for rural COM
munities In nine Middle Western States
went to $40 per $1,000 OF insure nee.
Ihis Is all charged to the cost o. do
ing business in that community.
Collectively business is to be con-
demned for this policy, which con-
tributes to such large degree to the
O0,000.000 crime bill the country
pays annually. Unless this attitude
changes the cost OF conducting legiti-
mate business will be prohibitiye. Our
insurance mania has brought us to the
place where the prosecution OF q cap
tured bandit often fails because Of the
apathy in the testimony Of his victim,
II II Is at all possible to get plaintiff
INTO court. Our ancestors cared a
whole lot more about hanging horse
thleVes than they did about getting
their horse back.
Two remedies are suggested. The
HlsI standing reward in every
community that is large enough to
entlce bandits and their confederates
10 Squeal on each other. This would
appeal to their inherent cowardice and
tflckery, and soon no four bandits
would trust each other enough to work
together. Add to the reward certain
| parole privileges and organized crime
as 1t now functions would be dealt a
! terrific blow.
The second is tear gas. Some of
the outstanding crime prevention engi-
neers in the country, including the
protective division of the American
Bankers Association and the National
Board OF Surety and Casualty Under
writers, have stated that tear gas is
the greatest single step that has ever
been taken for the protection Of banks
and business concerns against BAN
dl5ry. Guns and police have had to
be abandoned as protective measures,
Tor they simply invite gunplay at the
cost OF innocent lives. The killer type
bandit has shown his utter disregard
for gun protection, for he enters the
premises to be robbed without warn
Z ct hn II -.,f-,-
weapon, and is willing to shoot it out
either with guards or the police re-
spending to a central alarm. If the
| lady depostOr who walked into the
Washington bank the other day while
the hold-up was in progress had been
uniformed policeman, off duty max
Ing payday deposit. the sight OF
his uniform would have been the signal
for a gun battle, with no telling how
many lives lost.
Statistics show that bandits never
knowingly attack a bank equipped with
tear gas, for they cannot fight it. The
gas blinds them and renders their guns
useless. 1t has often resulted in the
bandits being captured. The tear gas
Is utterly harmless as evidenced bv the
action Of the accident insurance people
in automatically including its use in
existing policies. and it persists on the
premises for not more than 80 min
utes. 1t is modern and efficient pro-
lection and it is bound to become uni
versaLy used. When it does a bank
will be as impregnable in the daytime
as 1t is now at night
Above all. We need more backbone
and change of attitude toward such
crimes. Business needs to care more
about bringing the criminal to Justice
and protecting human lives than it does
about getting checks from indemnity
insurance. ROBERT F. JONES.