Police, Independence township officials and local banks are planning to meet in the near future to share ideas and express concerns following two bank robberies January bank robberies in the area.
‘The purpose is to get all the banking professionals, law enforcement officers and township people in the same room,? said Sergeant Matt Baldes of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Independence Township substation. ‘We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. The banks have internal security procedures to handle such issues. We just want an open forum between all three partners in direct response to the recent robberies we’ve had.?
Baldes credited Independence Township Supervisor Dave Wagner with suggesting the idea.
‘It’s one of the things I asked the sheriff’s department if they’d be interested in doing with the perception out there of the recent bank robberies in the township,? said Wagner, who acknowledged he received several phone calls from concerned members of the community following the incidents.
‘I thought it was an ideal time to reach out to the banks and ask them if there was anything else we could do. We wanted to let them know we were concerned.?
Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager Debbie Hansen of Oxford Bank on M-15 in Clarkston, welcomes the chance to share ideas.
‘I think it’s a good idea with the rash of robberies that have happened. It can’t hurt to explore ways we can be more aware and reduce the number of robberies that have been happening,? said Hansen.
Hansen thought one helpful outcome of the meeting could be a communication system set up between all area banks alerting them when a robbery has occurred in close proximity.
‘We have about 19 banks in Independence Township located near major freeways. With the economy, people are desperate. We want law enforcement and banks to work closely for pre and post robbery situations,? said Baldes, explaining about 90 percent of the banks were positive about the meeting.
Neither Baldes nor Wagner could provide a specific date for the meeting. Wagner said the FBI is invited to participate and the township and police are waiting for the FBI to get back with them about dates that may work.
According to Baldes, the meeting is a preventative measure meant to look into any security topic or concern the banks may want to discuss or share.
The forum was prompted by the robberies of Chase One Bank on Jan. 26 and of TCF Bank on Jan. 29., both of which are on Dixie Highway in Independence Township.
Antoine Desean Walker of Pontiac, 31, was arraigned on Jan. 27 on charges stemming from the Chase One Bank robbery. He was caught in Waterford following a cash that left two Oakland County Sheriff’s patrol car damaged. Walker next appears at an exam in 52-2 District Court on March 3 at 10 a.m. continued from Feb. 24.
The suspect in the Jan. 29 robbery, seen on bank video surveillance in a disguise, is still at large.
Both men handed notes over to bank tellers instructing them to turn over money. Each man threatened the tellers suggesting he had a gun, but no evidence of a gun being involved in either instance were reported.