JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A troubling trend is already developing this year in Jacksonville when it comes to the number of banks robbed.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said its officers have responded to six bank robberies since Jan. 1.
In 2014, Jacksonville only had 12 bank robberies reported the whole year.
The recent uptick in these robberies isn't only a concern for the institutions, their employees and their customers. Local business owners are also worried that the crime could spill into their office places.
"I think the problem is unemployment," bank customer Marion Graham said. "People in this city are not working, man."
Christine Coleman, who works at Liberty tax services right next to a Suntrust bank that was robbed last month said the Jan. 7 robbery frightened everyone on the block.
"I work right next door to it, and we do taxes, and I'm scared someone might think we have money in there and rob us," Coleman said.
Coleman said she and other employees locked their doors while investigators looked for the person who robbed the bank.
In each of this year's bank robberies, police say the suspects demanded money from the cashier by either implying they had a weapon, or passing the teller a demand note.
Here's a breakdown of the robberies this year:
- Jan. 7: SunTrust Bank, 1700 North Main St. Man, no weapon.
- Jan. 16: Compass Bank, 299 Monument Rd. Woman, no weapon.
- Jan. 16: Jax Metro Credit Union, 3033 Lenox Ave. Man, no weapon.
- Jan. 29: Duval Federal Credit Union, 500 South McDuff Ave. Man, no weapon.
- Jan. 31: TD Bank, 6060 St Augustine Rd. Man, no weapon.
- Feb. 5: Jax Metro Credit Union, 30 East 27th St. Man, no weapon. (Attempted robbery, no money taken)
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said it's common for crimes like this to spike and then trail off.
"They always come in waves," he said. "You may have a lot of bank robberies now and then a slow period."
Smith said JSO typically clears 80 to 90 percent of its bank robbery cases every single year. So far this year, Suntrust, Compass, Jax Metro Credit Union, TD Bank, and Duval Federal Credit Union, are among the institutions that have been hit..
"They want to make a quick hit, try to make as much money as they can as fast as they can," Smith said of the robbers.
Investigators have not said whether or not they think any of these bank robbers are in any way related.