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Oregon saw a marked increase in bank robberies and burglaries in 2006: 178 as compared with 138 in 2005. According to an FBI press release, this puts Oregon in 17th place nationally, trailing behind the ninth-place Washington, which saw 273 robberies.
But Oregon ranks second for the number of these cases solved in states with as many, or more bank jobs. The feds and local cops caught up with about 61 percent of these stick-up artists, many at the time, or within one month, of the incident.
The FBI analysis shows in Oregon that white men are by far the most likely candidates for bank robber. Of 189 people involved in these cases in 2006, "146 are white men, 21 are black men, and eight are Hispanic men. Nine are white women, and one is a black woman. The remaining three are unknown men," the report said (and, yes, that only equals 188 people; fuzzy math, anyone?).
Certain days of the week are also more likely to be hit by these desperados. Perhaps looking to fill the coffers for a spendy weekend, bank thieves in Oregon were most likely to attempt a heist on a Friday.
Portland and its suburbs were the hardest hit, with 118 incidents, or 62 percent of all reported incidents. In 2006 our state had an average of 4.9 bank robberies/burglaries per 100,000 people, while the U.S. as a whole had an average of 2.4 bank robberies/burglaries per 100,000 people.
And the image of the getaway car is apparently overblown, the report states. "The majority of getaways (121) were on foot, while witnesses actually observed a vehicle getaway in 39 cases. This includes the use of bicycles in seven incidents." Maybe Portland is a little too bike friendly…
WWeek 2015