# If you KNEW you would get away with it, would you rob a bank? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 3, 2008, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470 "2008-12-03T05:39:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/21 "2008-12-03T17:03:55Z")
I’ve always wanted to (it’s a fantasy, but I have a lot of fantasies I’ll never go through with though, no need to panic), but no in your case because: a) If i were to Rob a bank it wouldn’t be a holdup, I’d go in at night. It’d really mess up someone’s life to be involved in something like this. i’d want no party to that. b) i’d never use a loaded gun. I hate guns. If there was a guard I had to dispose of, i’d use a tranquilizer or something. I’d have to do more research on that. My main issue is not ever hurting anyone. c) I don’t much care about never getting caught. I care about… d) the money. If I’m going to do time, you bet I’m gonna have something to fall back on when I get out. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/22 "2008-12-03T17:14:19Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Are you sure? **atomicbadgerrace** ’s position, like yours, is one of declining to rob the bank, albeit possibly out of different primary motivations. Yes, but not because it’s dishonest, only because 2. he’d have to use a gun, 3. he might traumatize people, and 4. he didn’t know how much he would get. So \*\*atomicbadgerrace \*\*is perfectly fine with taking things that don’t belong to him as long as it’s antiseptically free from sordid guns and such, and as long as he gets enough of whatever it is to make it worth his while. Maybe he would prefer to tunnel into a bank at night and make away with a couple of tons of gold (_a la_ The Red Headed League). This is why I don’t want to meet him: I would not be able to trust him not to steal from me, and anyway I don’t want to associate with dishonest people. So you see the primary motivation is critical to my reaction to his posts. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/23 "2008-12-03T17:15:47Z")
No, I have absolutely no problem handling guns but I don’t want to traumatize people just to get some cash. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/24 "2008-12-03T17:19:50Z")
I would never do it because it’s not right to take what does not belong to you. That said, I love movies where the bank robbers/fine art thieves, etc., use terribly clever plots, or even just get dumb lucky. Stuff like the Italian Job, The Bank Job, The Thomas Crown Affair, Ocean’s Eleven. Fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/25 "2008-12-03T17:26:55Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > No, I have absolutely no problem handling guns but I don’t want to traumatize people just to get some cash. This and I’ll add innocent between “traumatize” and “people”. I’m rather proficient with a firearm and have no trouble traumatizing people who need to be traumatized, but this is out of the question. Ancillary to that, there isn’t enough money to buy the peace of mind you’d never get from always looking over your shoulder for the cops. It’s not worth it in any case to me. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/26 "2008-12-03T17:48:58Z")
I’ll second what **drm** said. Always wanted to do it, but it has to be an uber-clever bad ass plan. Something to make movies about. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/27 "2008-12-03T17:54:44Z")
Well if it could be like the one in the movie Heat, except I don’t have to actually shoot anyone, then yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/28 "2008-12-03T17:55:07Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > No, I have absolutely no problem handling guns but I don’t want to traumatize people just to get some cash. Bingo…#3 is the biggest dealbreaker. Well, aside from the whole “it’s stealing” thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/29 "2008-12-03T18:26:49Z")
No, well I would, but then my wife would make me take it back. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/30 "2008-12-03T18:47:50Z")
Suppose you didn’t have to use a gun but could tunnel into the vault overnight. All the rest about knowing you wouldn’t get caught still stands. Would anyone’s answer change? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/31 "2008-12-03T20:49:59Z")
The ramifications of the act would be that I would have to live with myself knowing that I suck. No thanks. You can take away outside penalties. You can’t take away my moral compass. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/32 "2008-12-03T22:07:05Z")
I’m not a thief. Don’t want to be a thief. Like **jsgoddess** , I’d have to live with myself… just not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/33 "2008-12-03T23:00:25Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > No, I would not. Other people worked to earn the money stored in the bank, everyday people who might not be able to make their bills. You wouldn’t actually be taking their money, you know. It’s not like the poor guy who recently made a cash deposit now has it null and void. Banks are insured for a reason. The money is stolen from “the bank,” who then in turns files an insurance claim and gets their money refunded through FDIC, or some other insurance thingy. No individual account will ever have any of their funds touched in any way. I’m not saying that makes it ok to rob a bank, I’m just saying the way your worded your reply made it sound like the thief would be taking money from individual accounts, which he would not. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/34 "2008-12-03T23:28:28Z")
When push comes to shove, who can say how bad I could be? But I doubt it. I’m not built that way. I have a strong sense of what I feel is right and wrong and it is rare that I break those rules. It is one of the things that people comment on about me. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/35 "2008-12-03T23:39:32Z")
How about if the bank held millions in unmarked cash and all the rest stood? You’re guaranteed to get away with it, forever I presume; all you gotta do is wave a loaded gun around and possibly traumatize a few random people. So the last option is bumped up to a few million. Would you do it then? I would but you already known I’m willing to perform armed robbery. ---
**Author:** ![Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dread_pirate_jimbo/32/3897_2.png) [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dread_Pirate_Jimbo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470/36 "2008-12-04T00:02:48Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Suppose you didn’t have to use a gun but could tunnel into the vault overnight. All the rest about knowing you wouldn’t get caught still stands. > > Would anyone’s answer change? As I alluded to earlier, you can’t tunnel into the vault. The walls and ceiling are a foot thick (The floor substantially thicker, to support all the weight), made of concrete, with steel corners and as much rebar as you’ll find in the rest of the bank’s floor. You could try blowing the safe the way Mythbusters did a while back, but there won’t be much left inside to steal. Oh, and your success is further complicated by the presence of cameras and motion sensors in and around the vault that will have the cops waiting for you when you’re ready to leave. Did I mention that the average bank doesn’t have a significant amount of money on hand at any given moment these days, because electronic banking has made it unnecessary? Still easier, and with a better profit margin, to knock over a 7-11. 🙂 And now, back to the OP’s purely hypothetical situation already in progress… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-knew-you-would-get-away-with-it-would-you-rob-a-bank/475470.md?page=1)