Why don't banks use bullet-proof glass partitions?

[David_Simmons]

In the 1930’s when John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd, Machine Gun Kelly, et al made bank robbery a routine even this was done by almost all banks.

But, as someone posted above, robbers merely threatened to shoot the cutomers which put the teller and the bank in a real bind.

[gigi]

@Necros

Why would they need them? Most bank robberies are not committed by people who walk up to the teller and stick a gun in his or her face. They are done by walking quietly up to the teller window, and passing a note. The note may say they have a bomb or a gun, but it is very rare that someone actually displays one. The tellers are trained to hand over their drawer money and, if possible, pass the robber a dye pack.

It is significantly better for the robber if no one, other than the teller they are dealing with, is aware that a robbery is taking place. Walking into a bank brandishing a weapon is not the best way to keep yourself inconspicuous.

But having the glass removes some of the threat posed by a bomb or gun (or gub, as the case may be). Why would the teller hand anything over if they aren’t in immediate danger, and they can use that second to hit an alarm or alert security?

[Askance]

@A.R. Cane

Rather than deter robbery, I suspect that bullet resistant partitions would only cause potential robbers to escalate their efforts. They might resort to explosives, kidnapping or other methods of getting the cash.

Nope. We’ve had banks with bullet-proof glass since the 70s, and I don’t recall a single instance of this. The robbers just go somewhere easier, like a petrol station or non-protected bank.

They like an easy job, not a challenge.