Source: Security Management Online
Italy has the busiest bank robbers in Europe, a report from the country’s banking federation says. Italian bank robbers held up a record 1,565 banks in the first half of this year, according to the banking federation. The report says bank robberies increased by more than 26 percent between January and June.
The report says Italy accounts for half of Europe’s bank robberies. Last year, Italy had 2,735 bank robberies - more than three times the number in Germany, which had 728 robberies. The UK had just 122 bank robberies in 2006.
On average, Italian bank robbers take 20,000 euros in each assault – about a quarter of the amount more productive robbers take from banks in Switzerland or the Netherlands.
American bank robbers are even less accomplished than their Italian colleagues. Almost 7,000 banks were hit up in 2006 and bank robbers made off with $70 million in cash, according to F.B.I data. That’s about $10,000 on average for each heist.
