More ATM break-ins this year than ever before
Published: Sunday, Dec 15th 2024, 10:50
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More ATMs have been blown up in Switzerland this year than ever before. According to the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol), criminals blew up 25 ATMs by mid-December.
This figure does not include the two attempted explosions in Langnau in May and in Wynigen in the canton of Bern in November. Although 22 ATMs were also attacked with explosives last year, the perpetrators failed in 11 cases.
Overall, the total number of ATM attacks also rose from 32 to 44 by mid-December 2024 compared to the previous year. However, if the years from 2019 to 2022 are included, the number of robberies is declining this year.
In 2022, there were a total of 57 attacks, but gas was used more often or the ATMs were broken into. In 2021 (49 in total) and 2020 (44 in total), there were more electrical manipulations and in 2019 (56 in total), the perpetrators mainly used tools and gas to break into the ATMs.
Great criminal energy
As soon as explosives are used, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) is generally responsible. Attacks on ATMs are an international phenomenon that affects the whole of Europe, the OAG told the Keystone-SDA news agency in response to an inquiry. The perpetrators often operate across cantonal and national borders.
The scenes of the crimes regularly present a picture of massive destruction. This indicates a high level of criminal energy on the part of the perpetrators. The potential damage caused by the force of the explosions is very high, both for the perpetrators and for bystanders.
The BA is currently conducting criminal proceedings in around 100 cases. There are indications of links between various cases, which it is following up in its ongoing investigations. The proceedings are also time-consuming because international legal assistance often has to be requested.
It was only on Friday that the authorities managed to strike a blow against four suspected ATM attackers. They were arrested at a highway service station in the canton of Lucerne.
Hope in measures
In the fight against the wave of attacks, more than 60 representatives from banks, police forces, customs and forensic institutes met in mid-December to discuss possible security measures at ATMs and their effectiveness, Fedpol wrote. The Federal Office will advise those concerned and make recommendations. However, the banks must decide for themselves which measures to implement.
The recommendations include taking free-standing ATMs at risk locations out of circulation, filling fewer ATMs, using paint or glue cartridges to make the money unusable after an attack or reducing the opening hours of ATMs.
The example of the Netherlands shows that preventative measures can be effective in the fight against ATM attackers. There, the number of ATM attacks has been minimized thanks to close cooperation between the bankers' association and the law enforcement authorities.
©Keystone/SDA
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