While researching his book on the history of bank robbers, L.R. Kirchner went to the crooks themselves for insight into their motivations.

He discovered there are essentially two kinds - desperate ones and greedy ones.

"There are those people who think it looks easy and always, always believe they'll get away with it," said the Kansas City author. "And then something you see more these days are people with personal problems, like a drug habit, who are just desperate for money."

Wichita may be seeing its share of both this year. The number of bank robberies has already surpassed the 14 that occurred last year, and it's only August.

The increase comes despite advanced precautions by banks to protect themselves - from virtually undetectable dye packets ruining stolen bills to digital video cameras providing picture-perfect images of suspects.

A picture of the suspect in the city's latest robbery, at a west-side Intrust Bank on Monday, published in The Eagle and on TV, has already led to several leads, authorities said.

The tools and tips from the community have helped authorities solve eight of this year's 15 bank robberies.

It's a sign that the latest robbers may be more desperate and impulsive than calculating and deliberate.

"I would say the majority are not well planned out," said Dan Monnat, a criminal defense lawyer who has represented bank robbers in his 25 years practicing law in Wichita.

"I'm not an expert, but it's a hunch that most are connected to personal problems, like substance abuse, poverty and mental health problems."

Bill Seck, senior FBI agent in Wichita, agreed that robbers' motives can be as simple as having just been laid off.

But not all of them.

"Some are just career criminals," Seck said. "And banks are where the money is."

For example, authorities arrested a man in March for three bank robberies in two weeks. In each case, he threatened employees and customers with what he claimed was a bomb in a paper bag.

In recent years, some bank robbers have not actually produced a weapon during robberies. Federal laws can add years to a prison sentence if a weapon is used.

Other robbers, however, demonstrated a clear lack of planning.

On July 20, police arrested a woman at a gas station a few minutes after a bank robbery in the 2300 block of South Hydraulic. She stopped to fill up her getaway car less than a mile from the bank. She had just used a $100 to pay for gas and cigarettes when police spotted her.

That woman had simply walked into the bank and demanded money.

Kirchner, a former member of a federal anti-drug task force turned author, said he learned some funny things about bank robbery methods while researching "Robbing

Banks: An American History," published in 1999.

"Like the single, most common weapon is a finger made to look like a gun," he said. "Almost all bank robbers are in it to get the money, not to hurt anyone."

But the possibility for violence exists in every robbery, he said.

Bank robbers come in all ages and races, but have one trait in common -they aren't frazzled by confrontation.

If they were, they'd probably be a burglar and rely on stealth rather than intimidation, he said.

"In banks, they risk running into an armed security guard," he said. "That's a difference between bank robbers and those who rob convenience stores. The bank robbers get more money, but it takes more guts to do."

Even banks that don't utilize full-time security guards -most in Wichita don't, especially at branch offices - have found ways to thwart robberies.

Some banks have installed double sets of automatic doors. When a fleeing robber makes it through the first set, a teller pushes a button to lock the second set.

The first doors close and lock as well, trapping the robber until police arrive.

Dye packets have become virtually undetectable to robbers, he said. An example: In June, a robber slapped a briefcase on the counter of west Wichita bank, demanding money and that no dye packet be placed with the money.

The teller slipped one in right under his nose. Seconds after he left the bank, it exploded, staining the money with an unremovable ink that renders the money useless.

Also, surveillance cameras are more advanced. Some banks are using digital cameras, which feed into a computer rather than a VCR, providing sharp, detailed pictures of suspects.

Reach Alex Branch at 268-6544 or abranch@wichitaeagle.com.