Crime Control Digest - Vol.12 No.30 - News Summary for Law Enforcement Professionals

Oct 13, 2026

Comprehensive, independent news summary for law enforcement professionals, covering policy and research findings relevant to crime investigation and prosecution as of July 31, 1978. Highlights include a GAO analysis urging the FBI to relinquish primary responsibility for bank robbery investigations to states, and an LEAA feature examining rising female criminal involvement using FBI Uniform Crime Reports and PROMIS data. Additional briefs address federal judicial staffing, policing needs, airport security, home security guidance, crime lab performance, and anti-crime legislation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

GAO Seeks to Curb FBI Role in Bank Robberies

Steady Rise Seen for Crime Committed by Women

Crime Control Digest Index

# ●Crime Control Digest A Comprehensive and Independent News Summary for the Law Enforcement Professional July 31,1978 Vol.12 No.30 In The Congress... ## GAO SEEKS TO CURBFBI ROLE IN BANK ROBBERIES The FBI's authority to investigate bank rob-beries,originated as a weapon against theBonnies and Clydes of the 1930s,is taking toomuch of the bureau's time and should be turnedback to the states,the General Accounting Officesaid. An analysis of 230 cases in seven cities lastyear “showed that bank robberies do not repre-sent a unique problem for law enforcement,andlocal jurisdictions generally could assume agreater investigative and prosecutive burden,”according to Victor Lowe,Director of GAO'sGeneral Government Division. Lowe testified before the House Civil andConstitutional Rights Subcommittee on the GAOreport,which has not been published yet pendingan FBI response. He said Congress gave the FBI jurisdictionin bank robberies because of the interstate natureof the crime when it was at its peak in 1934. But according to the study,local police be-lieve bank robberies are not much different fromother robberies and most bandits are unsophis-ticated criminals who operate within the bordersof one state. Still,Lowe said,the FBI attaches high prior-ity to solving bank robberies.As a result localpolice are able to use their resources in otherareas,although the study showed solutions "wereuniversally accomplished through straightforward,that is to say routine,investigative techniques"thestate or local police could perform.(see FBI,page 6) Page 1 IN THIS ISSUE GAOSays FBI Should Relinquish Bank Robberies··1LEAA Reports Women Committing More Crimes ··2Burger:'More Federal Judgeships Are Needed’···3Help Wanted-Police Chief In Illinois·....·3DOT Official Wants More Security At Airports···4New Film Shows How To Have More Home Security·4Crime Labs Get Failing Marks·········5NY Govenor Signs A Tougher Anti-Crime Bill ···7Wertz Elected To Chair SPA Conference· ···7FBI Director Wants Exemption From Civil Service··7Blacks Not Discriminated Against In VA Says Judge .8LEAA GRANTS·············9 CRIME CONTROL DIGEST INDEX For the first time in our brief history,we haveundertaken the indexing of our publication for oursubscribers.This week your free copy will be placedin the mail.Hereafter,you will be receiving theseindexes on a quarterly basis.We hope you findthis reference tool an invaluable aid in utilizing theinformation found in CRIME CONTROL DIGEST.Please let us know what you think of our idea. -The Editor D.C.Studied... ## STEADY RISE SEEN FOR CRIMECOMMITTED BY WOMEN (An LEAA News Feature) Crimes committed by women will probablycontinue to increase because the female workingforce continues to grow,a federal study says "I don't see a ceiling yet,"Professor Rita J.Simon,director of the Program in Law and So-ciety at the University of Illinois,said.“As youhave more and more women working outside thehome,they are gettingjobs that place them in aposition to embezzle or steal.With this larger fe-male working force,it is simply a question of thelaw of averages.” The study data are from the Prosecutor'sManagement Information System(PROMIS)operated by the Institute for Law and Social Re-search under a grant from the LEAA. Prof.Simon constructed a national statis-tical profile for female crime from the FBI'sUniform Crime Reports and then compared thenational figures with detailed statistics of crimeby women in Washington,D.C. Nationally,women accounted for 16 per-cent of all persons arrested for crime in 1975,compared with 10.8 percent in 1953.In somecategories-economic crime,for example-thepercentage of women arrested rose 600 percent. In 1953,4.9 percent of the women arrestedfor serious crimes were charged with larceny-theftand 1.1 percent with embezzlement and fraud.By 1975,the rates rose to 25.4 percent and 3.3percent,respectively. Some of the study's findings for Washington, D.C.: ● F

FAQs

What does the GAO analysis say about FBI involvement in bank robberies?

The analysis argues that bank robberies are not a unique enforcement problem and that local jurisdictions generally could assume greater investigative and prosecutive burdens.

Why does the study expect an increase in crimes committed by women?

It links rising female crime rates to continued growth of the female workforce, which places more women in jobs where embezzlement, stealing, and related opportunities can occur.

Which data sources are used in the feature about female crime?

The feature draws on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports and PROMIS, operated by the Institute for Law and Social Research under a grant from the LEAA.

Oct 13, 2026

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