Note to the unemployed: Bank robbery is not a lucrative gig. This may come as a somewhat of a surprise. Bank robbers always seem to do so well after a major heist, at least in the movies. But a recent study in the journal of Britain’s Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association, found that, despite the perceived glamour, you might make more money as, say, a dental hygienist. Indeed, as the authors — economists in England who had access to data from the British Bankers’ Association and the FBI — concluded in their veddy British way: “The return on an average bank robbery is, frankly, rubbish.” Here’s why: Based on 2006 data, the average take-home from a U.S. bank robbery was a paltry $4,330. One third of these were foiled, which means the robbers took home nothing at all. That puts the average haul per successful robbery at £30,000. Clearly, there are ways a robber can up his ante. On average, gun-toting robbers waltzed away with £10,301more than unarmed ones. On the other hand, that might not be so smart, because the penalties are greater for armed robbery. Operating in a team is another option: It increases the take by £9,033, on average, in large part because gangs tend to be more organised and professional (See ‘”Point Break’ or ‘Inside Man’ for more on this).
