Published Surveillance Image Helps Police Nab Bellingham Bank Robber
In Bellingham, WA, a newspaper reader helped police track down a Bank of America robbery suspect. Video surveillance of the robbery produced a clean image of the suspect, which was then released by police to the media and published in the Feb. 27 edition of The Bellingham Herald. A Herald reader recognized the man in the surveillance video image and phoned the authorities with his identity.
The suspect, Forrest R. Green, was arrested and booked on suspicion of first-degree robbery for the Bank of America holdup on Feb. 24.
On that day, at around 10:30 a.m., an armed man entered the Bank of America branch at the Sunset Drive Cost Cutter and demanded money. He escaped with cash, but not before his image was captured by the bank's surveillance cameras. Police released the image and asked the public for help. In this case, the strategy worked perfectly, leading to Green's arrest.
It has become increasingly popular for authorities to ask for the public's assistance in obtaining the identity of thieves caught on camera. Publishing images in print and posting surveillance videos online has proven to be an extremely effective tool in this area.