Company says financial instituions not secure enough

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) According to an area company, most financial institutions are not as secure as they should be.  Leaders with the company said extra security personnel could deter violent armed robberies like the one at ProFed Credit Union Thursday.

Fort Wayne Police said three people robbed the ProFed Credit Union on Stellhorn before it opened Thursday morning.  The suspects are said to have tied up and beat three employees, then got away with cash.

ProFed President and CEO Greg Troutner said it was one of the first robberies at his credit union in about 15 years.  The credit union opened late Friday because the employees were meeting with a counselor.

“Immediately afterwards of course they were very shaken up,” Troutner said.  “They have access to a counselor at an unlimited basis going forward.”

But as a whole, Per Mar Security leaders said credit unions and banks in Fort Wayne aren’t secure enough. The company’s general manager thinks only about 10 percent of financial institutions in the area use a security guard or physical security presence. 

Rod Goze is the operations manager at Per Mar Security and has run security for financial institutions before.  He said a physical security presence is a measure that would help deter robberies.

“If you've got somebody there in a uniform that’s carrying a weapon, it really does deter a lot of people,” Goze said.  “When they come there and actually see that, they know they actually have to go against somebody to actually have to commit some sort of violent crime.”

After his credit union became the latest robbery victim, Troutner said he's skeptical of Per Mar’s simple security solution, but will be giving his security a closer look.

“We're going to have to reevaluate the security processes,” Troutner said.  “It's hard to imagine frankly how you can defend against the type of robbery that occurred here.”

The FBI has put out a $5,000 reward for information on the three suspects from Thursday’s robbery.  Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (260) 436-STOP.