REPORT OF THE PROTECTIVE COMMITTEE - American Bankers Association - October 4, 1926

Sep 21, 2026

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Protective Committee report of the American Bankers Association for Los Angeles, California, dated October 4, 1926, summarizing crime-prevention work and outcomes for the association’s prior year period. It highlights reductions in crimes of violence, daylight robberies, and burglaries, linking gains largely to coordinated armed vigilante forces organized by bankers in several states. The report also covers arrests and convictions from detective efforts and describes legislative changes enacted in New York to modernize criminal justice, restrict bail abuses, and improve statewide criminal records collection and dissemination.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

REPORT of the PROTECTIVE COMMITTEE

Crime reduction and detective results

New York legislative measures described

97-84163-28American Bankers ASSociation Protective..Report of the ProtectiveCommittee [of the]..Los Angeles,Calif. 1926 # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISIONBIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 308 ZAmerican benkers association.Protective Box 499Dept. Report of the Protective comnittee cof theAmerican bankers association.Los Angeles,Cal.,1926.7 p.23 cm.0NLy E Reproductions may not be made without permsion from Columbla UniversityLibraries. ## RESTRICTIONS ON USE: TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA BEDUCTION BATIO: 9:/ FILM SIZE: 5mm IB IIB IMAGE PLACEMENT:IA DATE FILMED: 5l9 INITIALS: c TRACKING\#: 26862 FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEM,PA. club ## REPORT of thePROTECTIVECOMMITTEE H D二 ## AMERICANBANKERSAssOCIATION 308.×499 Z Los ANGELES,CALIFORNIAOcTOBER 4,I926 REPORT OF THE PROTECTIVECOMMITTEE AMERICAN BANKERS AssoCIATION,Los Angeles,Calif.,October 4,1926 By JAMES E.BAUM,Deputy Manager HROUGHOUT its ffty-one eventful years of organized and diversified activities,crime prevention and prosecution without compromisehave been cardinal principles of the American Bank·ers Association's warfare against criminality.Butin all those years of service,during thirty-six ofwhich the Association has waged a continuous andrelentless drive against bank crooks,the chapterended August 31,1926,shows the greatest reductionof any year in criminal attacks against member banks. Crimes of violence were reduced 30%below thosereported in the previous year,daylight robberieshaving dropped from 144 to 112 attacks,and the 57burglaries of 1925 were reduced to 29 during thecurrent period.Virtually all of this commendablereduction in crimes of violence is traced to the experience of banks in Illinois,Indiana,Kansas and Okla-homa,where armed forces of vigilantes were effectively organized and directed by bankers. With a material reduction also shown in forgeries,swindles and other paper frauds,the Protective Committee is gratified to report that the general declinenoted in the various classes of crimes committedagainst member banks now finds the fraternity backto the more normal conditions of pre-war days. Our detective agents caused the arrest of 302 ofthe 472 bank criminals apprehended during the pastyear,208 of these being convicted and imprisoned.In the same period,121 additional prisoners whowere arrested prior to last year were also convicted. Mindful of the disgraceful tide of crime which isexacting such an appalling toll in life and property,your Committee is certain that the recent progress ofbanking in curbing crime would have been impossiblewithout the full power of organization—local,stateand national.It views the results as giving,notalone a striking example of the spirit and sound application of the principles of organization,butproof as well that suppression of crime rests largelyupon the will of our people to stamp it outTheresults also suggest the possibilities of more intensive measures being adopted by other national associations of business men,notably those companiesthat underwrite the losses suffered from criminalattacks. Acting upon the report of its Joint LegislativeCommittee on the Coordination of Civil and Criminal Practice Acts—the "Baumes Crime Committee"—the last legislature of New York State passed anumber of statutes that are designed to modernizeand put teeth into the criminal laws of the State.The effect of the new laws should expedite,strengthen and simplify the administration of criminal justice,increase the terms of imprisonment inState Prisons,eliminate many of the abuses upon thegranting of bail,restrict the indiscriminate release ofsecond offenders and provide for Statewide collection and dissemination of Criminal records and information

FAQs

What crime trends does the Protective Committee report describe for member banks?

It reports a reduction in crimes of violence, including fewer daylight robberies and burglaries, along with a general decline across major crime classes affecting member banks.

How does the report describe the Protective Committee’s investigative and arrest activity?

It states that detective agents caused the arrest of 302 of 472 bank criminals apprehended during the past year, with those arrested being convicted and imprisoned, plus additional convictions from earlier arrests.

Which types of New York State legal changes are summarized in the report?

The report summarizes statutes intended to modernize criminal laws, expedite criminal justice administration, restrict bail practices, increase imprisonment terms, and establish statewide collection and exchange of criminal records and information.

Sep 21, 2026

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