Banks will ask customers to take off hats, hoods

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri banks and credit unions are adding a new weapon to their theft-prevention arsenal.

Starting Tuesday, many financial institutions will ask customers to shed their hats, hoods and sunglasses before entering.

Customers will be served, even if they refuse to remove articles that obscure their appearance. But cashiers and bank security might watch customers who don't comply more carefully. The scrutiny, officials hope, could deter would-be robbers or make employees more observant of details that could help investigators if a holdup occurs.

Banks and credit unions already have ordered hundreds of signs, and posters that will be posted near entrances, explaining the new dress code.

The plan was developed with the cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and first used in the state in Springfield. It has won the endorsement of the Missouri Credit Union Association and the Missouri Bankers Association. More than 125 of the banking organizations' 560 members are participating.

Springfield area banks initiated the dress code last September, citing numerous holdups -- a growing problem in the state, according to the Bankers Association.

The average monetary loss from a holdup is $4,500, which typically is less than banks' insurance deductibles.

The dress code also combats identity theft and other varieties of fraud, said Lt. Tim Hull, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which also has endorsed the program.

Three options

Missouri's plan presents three options that should be tailored to suit individual community standards and applied consistently to avoid discrimination. All require the use of signs.

One option is for the financial institution to employ a greeter, who makes the dress codes request and directs those who refuse to remove appearance-concealing articles to a specially trained teller.

A second option also uses a greeter, who closely observes those who do not comply with the verbal request.

Under a third option, no one is approached, but customers are watched if they ignore the signs.

"I think this is an important tool to help make credit unions and banks a safer place for people who work and (bank) there," said Amy McLard, representing Missouri Credit Union.