Why federal authorities don't respond to ATM thefts from corner stores

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There has been a rash of automatic teller machine (ATM) thefts and attempted heists across Chicago and the nation, and the ABC 7 I-Team found a startling reason behind it: There are no federal laws against stealing independently-owned ATMs.

More than half, 60% of all of ATMs nationwide are independently-owned, and those are the ones being targeted by crafty thieves who have struck at least 20 times in the past two weeks, according to Chicago police.

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Surveillance cameras were rolling early Thursday morning at a South Side gas station, capturing two men using a truck to rip off the security gate and front door to the business, then walking out with an ATM in hand.

If the two suspects had been carrying the ATM out of a bank, it would be an FBI matter and they could face federal bank robbery charges, including lengthy prison terms.

But lately, Chicago burglary crews seem to have learned when they steal an independently-owned ATM, there is no federal jurisdiction.

Federal regulations against bank robbery charges carry up to a 20-year sentence, while state theft laws carry a five-year maximum sentence. It's a glaring security gap that lawmakers in Washington have recognized.

"The bad guys have become aware that if you rob an independently-owned ATM, one of these that's in a convenient store, or maybe a sporting event or some other venue, that's not going to bring the wrath of the FBI and federal authorities down on top of you," said U.S. Representative John Rose, a Republican from Tennessee.

Rose has introduced legislation that would change that. If passed, the "Safe Access to Cash Act of 2023" would fold all ATMs, both independently and bank-owned, into the federal Bank Robbery Act that was passed in 1934, long before ATMs were ever created.

Rose told the I-Team the legislation has bipartisan support.

"The crime is essentially the same in all respects," Rose said. "And so it seems that the punishment should be the same for those who commit these crimes. We've seen ATM theft rise by 600% in just the last two years."

One reason why thefts may be on the rise: Many stand-alone ATM's are only loosely fastened to the floor or wall, or not secured at all aside from the cord plugged into the wall.

Chicago police said a group of suspects attempted to use a pick-up truck to steal an ATM from a store on the South Side Friday morning, but were unsuccessful, likely because the machine was securely fastened to the store's property.

Bruce Renard, executive director of the National ATM Council, an organization representing owners of independent ATMs, has called the problem a "national crisis" and that the law needs to be updated.

"Federal law enforcement is trying to fight this with one, or maybe both, hands tied behind their back because of the 90 year old law that we're operating under today," Renard said.

Federal statistics show there are less than 5,000 banks in the U.S., and more than 500,000 ATM's coast-to-coast, with 60% of those ATMs independently owned.

Banks also operate thousands of off-property ATMs that are not usually covered by federal law, and they too have been hit by crafty thieves who know enough to avoid federal time. Renard told the I-Team that's why the 90-year-old bank robbery statute needs to be changed.

"The Safe Access to Cash Act is really vital to our entire nation going forward in terms of ensuring just what the bill says, safe access to cash," Renard explained. "It's something that we take for granted in America, but as they say, you don't know what you got till you lose it, and it's under attack right now."