Keeping your bank and its employees safe from assault or robbery is a serious concern. Due to the sensitive nature of working at a bank and the inherent danger of working near large sums of money, a guide to bank security procedures is available in the Bank Protection Act. This act serves as a broad guide to keeping your bank safe and requires that you create a process for safely opening and closing your bank. While each bank may go about this process differently, a few security checks should be universal.

Opening

Drive around the bank before entering to verify that there is no suspicious activity or noticeable forced entry. If you notice anything strange, you should alert the police.

Schedule at least two people to open and close the bank. This allows one person to stand outside to watch for any trouble while the other person handles initial opening duties.

Develop an "all-clear" signal that your employees can use. This signal should not be noticeable to the public. It may also be a good idea to develop an “alert” signal that is equally subtle. These signals should be changed in the event of a robbery or the termination of an employee.

Choose a safe place for your employees to go in the event of an emergency. This will help you keep track of each person for an accurate count of who is missing.

Create a two-phase opening procedure for any bank employee who must enter the bank alone at very early hours. Essentially, the employee should notify a family member or bank employee that he is entering the bank, and then call within a set amount of time to let everyone know he is safe. If the call does not come, that family member or employee should call the police.

Closing

Lock the doors once the bank is closed and do not open them for anyone under any circumstance. This protects your employees in the evening hours.

Choose an employee to let customers out of the bank if they have remained past closing time. This employee should unlock the door for each person and immediately re-lock it once the customer is through.

Keep one employee near a phone just in case some sort of incident occurs at the bank. A substitute for this step can be having employees keep 911 on speed dial on their cell phones.

Go over all your opening and closing procedures with your entire bank staff, including those who work in the back and do not usually see customers. Being prepared for a bad situation is the best way to keep everyone safe.