Personal Safety

Memo

Taking into account the fact that armed robbery is very serious and potentially dangerous for the employees of the Bank, some policies should be changed. The personal safety of the employees should always be the most important consideration when the bank plans to change procedures and properly react to robbery.

Several new opening and closing procedures should be established in the Bank. First and foremost, the most vulnerable times of the day for the financial institution are the periods when they open and close. That is why there should be from two to three employees present while opening and closing the Bank. Every day on a rotating basis one employee from the lower level and one employee from the upper level will be assigned to search the premises before admitting others. One of them will disengage the alarm system. If everything is clear, the employees entering the Bank first are signaling by opening the windows each on their level. This will be the prearranged sign, visible from the main entrance. The third employee is supposed to be in a closed vehicle. In a case when the sign is not clear or visible enough in a reasonable period of time, the employee should immediately call 911 and then call the security department of the company. That will also definitely protect customers who might be present upon opening the bank.

Closing procedures should also be improved. Now only one employee checks and closes the Bank. No special attention is paid to late customers. The policy concerning this procedure should be changed. First, one employee is supposed to lock the customer’s entry from the inside of the bank. The employee is supposed to stand at the front door and be attentive to customers who still have to leave the Bank. As a matter of fact, all employees should change their attitude and take special notice to those who seem to loiterer or even intentionally try to be the last in line. As the closing procedure changes, all customers who seem to be delaying their leaving of the Bank should be reported to the manager. When the last customer has left, two employees are to conduct a walk-through of the area. As the policy changes, special attention has to be paid to restrooms, that is why two employees must be a man and a woman to check them. All places where the person might be able to hide must be carefully checked. After the check, when all employees have left the premises, the manager has to make a final check. The manager will check whether the cash and valuables have been properly stored and if all rooms have been properly locked. After this procedure, the manager will switch on the alarm system. Before leaving, the manager should check whether all the lights have been switched off, except for those which serve to allow the Bank to stay visible from the main street. The alarm system has to be done in such a way, that when the person enters the Bank, all lights have to switch on. In such a way, if, for example, the alarm sound gets broken, bank intrusion would be obvious. However, the other place of high risk is a parking lot. It is recommended to secure people there too. That is why one employee, who will change every day, has to go to the parking lot first. After checking it, the employee is supposed to give a special sign to another. If everything is all right, the employee switches the lights and starts the car. If something is suspicious, an employee should open the car and pretend to be looking for something in a car. Such a delay will allow other employees to call 911. All these changes in policies and procedures will definitely help to protect employees and customers of the Bank.

In fact, the Bank has to face the truth that the Bank employees are under greater risk than anywhere else. That is why everything possible should be done to protect both employees and customers. Personal safety should always be the most important consideration, as life is priceless. That is why it is better to change some policies and procedures to lessen the chance of an accident.