Staff Editorial: More security at commerce

The branch of Commerce Bank on 38th and Walnut streets has been robbed so often that it has become a running joke.

On at least eight separate occasions within the last seven years, the safety of Penn community members has been put in jeopardy in the exact same location. The latest incident occurred yesterday, when an unarmed man passed a threatening note to a teller before taking some cash and escaping on foot.

It seems obvious that a bank which is robbed more than once a year on average would step up security to ensure that such incidents did not occur in the future. Apparently, though, the need for security was not pressing enough for the bank to take the necessary precautions. Even a Spectaguard who was standing outside the bank after the robbery said he thought security needed to be improved.

The onus has been on Commerce Bank to put in extra security for several years now, yet nothing seems to have changed. A significant number of Penn students have open accounts at Commerce Bank, and they are visiting the Walnut Street branch with the fear of being robbed constantly hanging over their heads.

It is certainly alarming that an unarmed man can waltz into a bank on Penn's campus and leave with other people's money. But this situation could have been much worse -- and much more difficult to defend against -- if the man had been carrying a weapon.

Before a more serious incident occurs and an innocent bystander is hurt in an attempted robbery, we feel it is time for the Penn Police Department and the University to step in and do the bank's job on its behalf.

If this bank branch is to remain on campus -- and in such a highly-trafficked area -- it requires extra attention and added security. Although it may be an added hassle for Penn Police, providing a security guard for Commerce Bank would serve an important purpose in keeping this campus safe -- and in bailing out a bank that cannot provide its own adequate security.

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