More bank robberies have been reported so far in 2012 than in all of last year, records show.
As of Aug. 8, there were 117 bank robberies reported in the Chicago area. In 2011, there were 115, according to BanditTracker Chicago. The 2012 figure is still lower than the record for bank robberies set in 2006, which saw 284 hold-ups, the Tracker reports.
BanditTracker is run by the FBI, the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff's office. The site publishes bank surveillance images hoping to catch bank robbers.
Despite the rising number of robberies, surveillance images manage to help catch the bank bandits, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. About 75 percent of bank robbery cases get solved, FBI spokesman Ross Rice told the Sun-Times.
Catching them isn't always easy, though, Rice said. Many of the suspects pictured in surveillance images are not disguised as stereotypical bank robbers, wearing a ski mask and gloves. In most cases images show suspects wearing sunglasses and hats to conceal their appearance.
The job of the police is also made easier when people occasionally see themselves on the website and turn themselves in, the Sun-Times reported.
