The following is an excerpt from Tim Clark's "How Not to Rob a Bank"
Here are some easy lessons gleaned from the experiences of a number of
would-be robbers.

PICK THE RIGHT BANK
You don't want to make the same mistake as the fellow in Anaheim, CA,
who tried to hold up a bank that was no longer in business and had no
money. 

STUDY YOUR HISTORY
Don't try to stick up the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota.
Jesse James tried it 111 years ago, and the townsfolk took just seven
minutes to kill two and capture three of his gang. Nobody  tried again
until 1984, and the customers chased the guy down. They're tight with
their dollar, those Minnesotans.

SPEAK TO THE RIGHT TELLER
One robber in Upland, CA, presented his note to the teller, and her
father, who was in the next line, got all bent out of shape about it. He
wrestled the guy to the ground and sat on him until authorities arrived. 

DON'T SIGN YOUR DEMAND NOTE
Demand notes have been written on the back of a subpoena issued in the
name of a bank robber in Pittsburgh... on an envelope bearing the name
and address of another in Detroit....and in East Hartford, Connecticut,
on the back of a withdrawal slip giving the robber's signature and
account number.

DON'T ADVERTISE
A teenage girl in Los Angeles tried to distract attention from her face
by wearing a see-through blouse with no bra while holding up banks.

GO EASY ON THE DISGUISE
One robber, dressed up as a woman with very heavy make-up, ran face
first into a glass door. He was the first criminal ever to be positively
identified by lip-print.

TAKE RIGHT TURNS ONLY
Avoid the sad fate of the thieves in Florida who took a wrong turn into
the Homestead Air Force Base, drove up to a military police guardhouse
and, thinking it was a toll-booth, offered the security men money. 

BE AWARE OF THE TIME
Or the chagrin of the bank robber in Cheshire, Massachusetts, who hit
the bank at 4:30 PM, then tried to escape through downtown North Adams,
where he was trapped in rush hour traffic until police arrived.  

CONSIDER ANOTHER LINE OF WORK
Bank robbery is not for everyone. One nervous Newport, RI robber, while
trying to stuff his ill-gotten gains into his shirt pocket, shot himself
in the head and died instantly. 

BE STRONG
Then there was the case of the hopeful criminal in Swansea,
Massachusetts, who, when the teller told him she had no money, fainted.
He was still unconscious when the police arrived. His getaway car,
parked nearby, had the keys locked inside it.