How to scare bank robbers? Try smiling

msnbc ^ | April 12, 2007 | associated press

[rebekah7gray]

What’s the best way to make a bank robber turn around and walk out the door empty-handed? Try a handshake and a smile.

Excessive friendliness is the key to the “Safecatch” system created by FBI Special Agent Larry Carr. The premise is that an overdose of courtesy will unnerve would-be robbers and get them to rethink the crime.

[rebekah7gray]

my friend sweet talked a rapist out of committing a crime against her, so being friendly and polite does help.

The lesson we can learn from my friend is, never aggravate the enemy but try to remind the enemy of our humanity and better still if the enemy sees us praying out loud to God, like that convenience store lady did some time back and the robbers left her unharmed even though they wanted to shoot her for making so much noise when she was praying

[Joe Boucher]

How about shooting them between the eyes?
Bet that works better and more permanent.

[battlegearboat]

Sounds like a good way to get pistol whipped.

[The_Republican]

It only works with Rapists and Robbers - don’t try something like that with Demorcraps.

[M203M4]

I doubt that it is ‘being nice’ as much as it is humanization and other disruptions to the scaffolding built by rehearsal (mental or otherwise).

[Names Ash Housewares]

I dunno. This might send me running....

Then again, who is robbing who?

[MarkL]

This is just a bit scary!

Mark

[RedWhiteBlue]

I doubt that it is ‘being nice’ as much as it is humanization and other disruptions to the scaffolding built by rehearsal (mental or otherwise).

Yeah. That, and knowing that someone just made eye contact with you and probably sized you up well enough to give a good description or pick you out in a line-up.

[dragnet2]

Try a handshake and a smile. Excessive friendliness is the key to the “Safecatch” system created by FBI Special Agent Larry Carr.

They should have used this friendly system in the North Hollywood bank robbery.

[battlegearboat]

Always be polite to someone dressed in full body armor.

[dragnet2]

With a friendly smile, I’m sure they would have just removed their body armor, apologized and applied for positions as tellers.

[blam]

"How about shooting them between the eyes?
Bet that works better and more permanent."

That's the approach taken around here.

[shove_it]

“How about shooting them between the eyes?
Bet that works better and more permanent.”

I go with your plan, Joe, because the typical perp is a drug crazed POS.

[shove_it]

Remarkable likeness.

[verum ago]

let's clarify that: it only works if the 'enemy' has a conscience strong enough to give them serious misgivings about what they're doing without someone smiling at them... of course the question, then, is: how do you know that the above is true for an 'enemy' you've never seen before? What if they're unstable and smiling/being courteous provokes doubt in their mind, but instead of being enough doubt to change their mind about what they're doing it just aggravates them into further instability? What if they take it as a sign of weakness?

there are just too many what ifs with smiling and being nice to an 'enemy.' If doing so were a good method of self-defence, I suspect that it would have established as such a long time ago. The only time tested and proven way of deterring someone (or even an entire nation) from doing something is the capability to forcefully stop them from doing it and the willingness to do so, even should it be at great cost to both yourself and your especially to your enemy.

[Larry Lucido]

Todd Beamer should have tried that.

[Balding_Eagle]

The 1970’s had a rash of this nonsense.

Remember that? Don’t fight, it will just make it worse. TV programs proclaiming that was the answer to criminals. Got a lot of women raped, and a lot of pepole killed.

We are a lot wiser today.

Lead at supersonic speeds between the eyes is a service to the intended victim, and society in general.

[BuffaloJack]

I’m thankful that the passengers of Flight 93 did not heed this advice.

[Chickensoup]

Did you everhear the tape of the poor social worker who was carnapped by some freak who wanted to have fun on his birthday.

She was very nice and it was terrible to hear her die.

[rebekah7gray]

what if the christians in the plane started praying out loud, like that convenience store lady did, invoking God’s protection ?

Paul on the road to Damascus was going to kill Christians till he met Christ on the road and became a christian.

Could the hijackers on flight 93, have become christians and changed their plans, having heard the prayers of the christians ? like the Romans who changed their minds about killing christians after having witnessed the love shown by christians ?