Since reunification, the bank robbers in Germany are gradually dying out: The number of attacks on banks, savings banks and post offices has fallen by 95 percent in the past three decades.
In 1993, the State Criminal Police Office in Bavaria counted 133 attacks on financial institutions and post offices; in 2020 there were only six, as a spokeswoman said on request.
This means: after reunification, two to three banks and post offices in Bavaria were attacked week after week, in 2020 there was only one robbery every two months on average.
Less cash in the branches
Bavaria is no exception, nationwide and internationally the picture is similar. "The number of bank robberies has been falling since the 1990s, not only in Germany, but also, for example, in the United States and Great Britain," says the LKA spokeswoman. In 2001 the statistical record was changed, since then attacks on post offices and agencies have been counted instead of “post offices”, but the picture of the sharp decline does not change. Police as well as banks, insurers and criminologists see several causes for the phenomenon.
In 1995 there were still almost 70,000 bank branches in Germany; at the end of last year, according to the Bundesbank, there were still a good 24,000.
So bank robbers now have less choice than before.
In addition, there are technical advances and the decreasing importance of cash, which is why less money is stored in bank branches today than in the past.
In addition, the banks have greatly improved security measures.