Safety of bank vaults

Robbers target banks because those are the places where money, gold ornaments and other valuables are kept in safety by their clients or depositors. But bank authorities for reasons of protecting the stored money and other valuables are supposed to employ all possible technological and physical security measures. Yet robbers remain successful in outsmarting the management of the banks and steal money and other valuables from the vaults. Daylight robberies in banks in cities and towns are rarely committed by miscreants these days for fear of getting caught due to the extensive installation of closed circuit cameras and physical security measures. They tend to take recourse to other methods, including digging of underground tunnels or making of holes in buildings close to banks, to reach the vaults or lockers. Criminals usually choose long holidays or weekends to conduct their operations.
The most notable among the recent bank heists was the one committed at the Brac Bank branch located at a residential hotel at Sukrabad in Dhaka. The robbers emptied the locker of the branch by reaching it through a hole that they had made in the roof of the lockers' room. The most daring heist was the one that had taken place at the Kishoreganj branch of the Sonali Bank in January this year. The robber/s dug a long underground tunnel meticulously to reach the vault of the branch. The latest heist was committed at the Brac SME Krishi branch at Joypurhat on September 27 last. The robbers in this particular case were otherwise smarter than those involved in earlier heists. To evade detection they snapped the wires of the CC cameras installed inside the bank branch. The robbers in the previous two heists were nabbed by the law enforcing agencies. The probe has begun in the latest incident. It is likely the criminals would be caught this time too.
However, banks do need to review their security system in the light of modus operandi of the criminals. In addition to installing hidden digital cameras at different points of their branches, banks need to shield their vaults and lockers using reinforced materials. There is no denying that while opening their branches, banks take special care in this respect. Yet the same standard cannot be maintained in all cases. The 'strong rooms' of a few branches are found to be not that strong and remain vulnerable to onslaught from the criminals. The vault of the Brac SME branch at Joypurhat, the latest target of robbers, is a glaring example. Possibly, the robbers did not face much trouble in dismantling a part of the branch's vault.
Bank robberies are as old as banking. The crime would continue to recur also in the future. But to minimise the risks of losing money to the criminals, the banks in the developed countries employ high-tech gadgets and take insurance policies to get compensation in the event of heists. The Bangladesh Bank, at least, on a couple of occasions since early 2008, asked banks to beef up security around their vaults and locker rooms and to take insurance policies for the same. The central bank had also promised effective monitoring of security measures around banks' vaults. It is the job of the regulator in the banking sector to see that the security measures around vaults and lockers are in line with its instructions.