Numbers of the Ministry of the Interior - Blasted ATMs: Far Less of a Prey
ATM Robbers Make Significantly Less Loot in NRW: In the current year, perpetrators took around 732,000 euros, a decrease of 87.1% compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
In fact, the number of attacks on ATMs has also significantly decreased, as the Ministry of the Interior announced a few weeks ago: Between January 1 and August 1, there were 19 explosions - in the same period in 2023, there were 97. In the current year, perpetrators made no loot in ten of those 19 cases.
The state government had urgently recommended that banks better protect their ATMs. Many devices were also completely dismantled because they were particularly at risk due to their location, for example, due to good escape routes.
The investments that, in particular, North Rhine-Westphalian credit institutions have made in the past two years have also paid off financially, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior. "On August 1, 2022, 110 successful attacks on ATMs resulted in a loot sum of 5.34 million euros being recorded by the police. On August 1, 2023, the known loot sum was already 5.65 million euros."
According to estimates by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the "damage sum caused by the massive explosions on buildings and inventory is still several times higher than the known loot sum," said the spokesperson.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the decrease in ATM robberies has led to significantly less loot, with only 732,000 euros taken in 2023, a decrease of 87.1% compared to the same period in 2023. The state's efforts in improving ATM security, including the dismantling of high-risk machines, have contributed to ten cases in the first half of 2023 where no loot was taken.
