Before Whidbey Island Bank opened on Wednesday, Dec. 19, Lake Stevens Police detectives Dean Thomas and Jared Wachtveitl met with bank employees to help them prepare in the case of a future robbery.

The detectives sat down and told employees things to look for and ways to behave in case they are robbed.
Asking employees to call if they see anything or anyone suspicious outside of the bank may help stop a robbery. Also, looking for cigarettes or coffee cups the robber may have used before entering the bank can help get DNA. They also explained that most bank robbers don’t come in pairs.

“For the most part banks robbers are alone,” Thomas explained. “Look for cars and their direction of travel, take a mental snapshot.”

The detectives also explained that when a call comes in from 911 dozens of officers respond, many times with help from other local jurisdictions.

“We fan out and make a circle around the perimeter of the bank trying to contain a suspect inside the area,” Wachtveitl said.
Whidbey Island bank employees are grateful for the training and appreciate getting to know local detectives.
“We do this at all of our branches so our staff is trained on physical security,” Bank Manager Katy Woods said. “It’s for prevention.”

Lake Stevens police department offers bank robbery training to all of the banks in Lake Stevens.
“We offer the training to all of our local banks every year,” Interim Police Chief Dan Lorentzen said. “Whidbey Island takes us up on it each year.”

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