WATERVILLE (NEWS CENTER Maine) — How often do bank robbers get away with the money in Maine?
On Tuesday, a team of law enforcement officers tracked down a man who allegedly stole money from Key Bank in Waterville. They used a GPS tracking system to find the suspect.
So far in 2018, there have been at least seven bank robberies, including Bristol, Falmouth, Norridgewock, Lewiston, Orono, China and more. In five out of those seven robberies, police arrested a suspect the same day. Police in Ellsworth arrested a man in April in connection with a bank robbery from 2014.
"Somebody that will take a desperate act to go in and rob a bank -- we consider them very dangerous," said Waterville Police Deputy Chief William Bonney. "We have to use the tools that are at our disposal to solve these crimes, and that's why you see them solved quickly."
Banks are investing in more high-end technology to keep employees and your money safe.
President and CEO of Evergreen Credit Union Jason Lindstrom said the credit union invested in new high-definition, 360-degree cameras with enhanced zoom so that if the credit union ever gets robbed, they can easily track down the suspect.
"It's not the photos of old where it was black and white. We have nice, high def images," said Lindstrom.
He could not show all of the technology at the credit union's disposal, in order to keep it secret from would-be robbers. He has come face-to-face with people stealing money from a bank.
"I've been robbed twice in my career," said Lindstrom. "It's a very scary thing when it happens to you."
Lindstrom said the credit union is investing in all types of fraud prevention technology, including anti-skimming machines on card readers, and facial/thumbprint recognition on its mobile app. He hopes that technology will soon come to the physical location.
"Criminals are always trying to be one step ahead of us with our tracking means and some of the things we employ secretly here at the credit union and so security is a big issue," said Lindstrom.
Maine State Police are still searching for a bank robbery suspect from the Bar Harbor Bank and Trust from July 5 in the town of China. They released new photos of the suspect Wednesday.