The Antwerp diamond heist, dubbed the "heist of the century", was the largest ever diamond heist and one of the largest robberies in history. Thieves stole loose diamonds, gold, silver and other types of jewelry valued at more than $100 million.
At 91 years old, J.L. Hunter Rountree, known as “Red,” was caught red-handed robbing a bank, making him the oldest convicted bank robber.
John Dillinger (June 22, 1903-July 22, 1934)
After being released at the age of 30 Dillinger joined a gang whose crimes included dozens of bank robberies, three jailbreaks and 10 murders between Sept. 1933 and July 1934.
Currently, some of the most dangerous countries in the world according to the GPI include Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia, all of which are facing ongoing conflicts and high levels of violence.
Brink's-Mat robbery (1983)
The Brink's-Mat facility at Heathrow Airport was broken into by a group of six armed criminals from South London. Mickey McAvoy and Brian Robinson, the leaders of the heist, had hoped to escape with £3m in cash. Instead, they ended up with gold bullion, jewels and cash valued at over £26m.
Consequently, many bank robbers are caught the same day. The clearance rate for bank robbery is among the highest of all crimes, at nearly 60%. The urban location of the crime also contributes to its repeat victimization profile, a measure of how quickly a crime victim will suffer a repeat of the original crime.
Bank robberies have decreased significantly over the past 15 years in both Australia and the US; however there has been an increase in some countries such as the UK and Ireland.
On 23 November 1978 Murwillumbah gained a new claim to fame, the location of Australia's biggest bank robbery.
The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft. Shortly after midnight on March 18, 1990, two men dressed as police officers broke into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston and stole 13 masterpieces including five Degas, three Rembrandts, and a Vermeer.
Solitary offenders commit the vast majority—nearly 80 percent—of bank robberies.
There are about 5000 bank robberies every year. About 60 percent are arrested and convicted. Most of those that do get caught are caught on the same day. Only about 20 percent of the “loot” is recovered.
The Pierre hotel robbery was a January 2, 1972 robbery at The Pierre in New York City. The robbery netted $3 million (worth $27 million today), and was organized by Samuel Nalo; Robert "Bobby" Comfort, an associate of the Rochester Crime Family; and Christie "the Tic" Furnari, an associate of the Lucchese Crime Family.
Theft rate - Country rankings
The highest value was in Denmark: 3949 thefts per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Senegal: 1 thefts per 100,000 people.
More than $13 billion in merchandise is stolen each year. More than $35 million in merchandise is stolen every day. There are roughly 550,000 shoplifting incidents per day. Approximately 27 million people in the U.S. shoplift, which equals around 10% of the country's population.
Australia is ranked third highest of the fourteen countries in terms of overall victimisation, behind the other two non-European countries, the USA and Canada. In assaults involving force, sexual incidents, burglary and motor vehicle thefts, Australia ranked highest of all countries surveyed.
2023 rankings
In the 2023 index, Switzerland is ranked most free overall, while North Korea is last. Bahrain was ranked most conservative, while Argentina was ranked most progressive.
According to the GPI 2021 report, Iceland was ranked the safest country in the world for the 13th consecutive year, followed by New Zealand, Ireland, Austria, and Denmark. The GPI takes into account 23 indicators that are grouped under three domains: ongoing conflict, safety and security, and militarization.