Targetted Kidnappings
Issued : 27 February 2009
IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, has written to the senior management in all of the retail banks in Ireland to seek an urgent review of internal security procedures following the robbery-kidnapping in Dublin this morning.
“We had hoped that the spate of targetted kidnappings which have caused such distress and anxiety to our members in the recent past had come to an end. However, today's incident underlines that nothing can ever be taken for granted in this area," he said.
“While our immediate concern is always for the victims of such traumatic events to ensure that they receive all the support they require, we also need to take all necessary steps to try to prevent any similar occurrences in future. We are therefore, seeking a complete review of all internal security procedures in all of the financial institutions in consultation with the Garda Siochána in the Republic and the Police Service of Northern Ireland - in order to keep any risks to the safety of bank staff and customers to the absolute minimum.
“While Bank of Ireland is now the primary focus for such an examination in light of today's events, we believe that the review should be conducted on a sector-wide basis - because on security issues, we believe that all banks can learn valuable lessons from both the failures and the successes of others," he concluded.
