The American Bankers Association has launched a secure, online portal where crime data for bank robberies, burglaries and ATM crimes – reported by subscribing banks – are collected and analyzed, then made available to participants.

The association said the service, dubbed "ABA Bank Capture," will aggregate data in real-time, allowing banks to access information on incidents as they are reported.

"ABA Bank Capture provides an invaluable tool for banks and law enforcement to detect and deter bank crimes," said Larry Brown, senior vice president of risk management for Raleigh, N.C.-based First Citizens Bank and chairman of the ABA bank security committee.  "Banks will now have the ability to more deeply analyze crime trends and be alerted to crimes occurring at other banks in their vicinity."

ABA Bank Capture integrates with the FBI Bank Robbery Intelligence Center to communicate robbery details as they are received.  The FBI reports back on cases as they are closed.  Subscribers can customize incident alerts and system notification emails.

The new program is designed to help banks get real-time robbery and ATM crime alerts; benchmark against their peers; track incidents regardless of location; enhance communication with law enforcement; and reduce losses.