Banks Use Newspaper Ad to Try to Track Down Crooks : Crime: Their state association, alarmed by a growing robbery rate, paid to have the photos of 15 suspects published.

Inspired by those television catch-a-crook shows and alarmed by an escalating rate of bank robberies in Los Angeles, the state’s bankers purchased a full-page newspaper advertisement Monday to display photographs of 15 suspected bank robbers and solicit public help in nabbing the fugitives.

The 440-member California Bankers Assn. paid for a full-page advertisement on the back of the first section of Monday editions of the Los Angeles Times.

Southern California is considered by law enforcement officials to be the world’s bank robbery capital, and both financial institutions and law enforcement agencies have been seeking ways to combat the crime--which occurs on the average of four a day in the region.

While investigation by newspaper is not a wholly new approach--detectives are notorious among reporters for calling with story tips when their investigations might be helped by publicity, and dodging calls when their purposes are better served by secrecy--the purchase of advertising space by victims seeking criminals does represent something of a breakthrough.

“We wanted to go above and beyond and do something that would be of assistance to law enforcement,” said Edmund Pistey, chairman of the security committee of the California Bankers Assn. “Banks for years have had internal surveillance cameras, but it’s one thing to have your picture taken, and another thing to have that photo published publicly.”

Nancy Evans, public affairs director for the bankers group, said the ad was being tested as a pilot effort that may be repeated if it proves successful. Sophisticated surveillance cameras provide the pictures, she said, but unless the public sees them, the shots are of limited use.

“We’ve got these great photos, and the missing link is people to identify them,” Evans said. “The general public has been the missing link.”

The 15 suspects chosen for the ad represent the best-quality photos available, officials said. The photo of a 16th man also appears, but he was captured before the ad went to press. All suspects are male and believed to be repeat offenders. Most operate in greater Los Angeles, from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. Authorities do not know the names of the suspects.

The ad--essentially a group wanted poster--also includes a brief description of each alleged offender and his principal operating area. Several of the photos offer a remarkably distinct view of the suspected robber in action, some walking away with what appear to be moneybags. One appears to be brandishing a pistol. Another is shown reading a newspaper with one hand while cradling the loot with the other.

“It’s along the lines of ‘Most Wanted’ and ‘Unsolved Mysteries,’ those shows which are getting more and more positive responses all the time,” said Dennis Tedder, vice president in charge of security for Southern California at the Bank of America.

“Law enforcement is doing a fantastic job but can’t do it all,” Tedder said. “We need community help and . . . hopefully somebody will recognize somebody and call the FBI.”

Said Mark Llewellyn, supervisory special agent in charge of bank robberies for the Los Angeles FBI office: “Based on these pictures, somebody out there has got to know them.”

By late afternoon, dozens of people had called various law enforcement authorities with tips--some good and some, in the words of one agent, “very, very far-out.”

Llewellyn said that by day’s end he had solid leads on two suspects.

One caller told the FBI he had seen one of the suspects driving down the freeway just Sunday; the caller had no other information, such as what kind of car the man was driving or a license plate number.

Another informant was convinced that one mug appearing in the newspaper ad matched a criminal he had seen on “America’s Most Wanted.” Not so, police told the caller. That suspect had been arrested months ago.

Still another would-be tipster claimed to know the identity of all 15 suspects. Los Angeles police officers who took the call quickly traced it to a psychiatric hospital.

But for all the bum tips, law enforcement officers were pleased with the response.

“The one that works is the one that’s necessary,” said Sgt. Gunars Heine of the sheriff’s robbery division, in between answering phone calls prompted by the ad. “If we only get one (suspect) out of this thing, then it’s a definite advantage.”

Los Angeles and its surrounding communities accounted for 20% of the nation’s bank robberies last year, according to the FBI. California as a whole leads the nation in bank robberies, with 2,104 heists reported in 1989. More than half--1,440--took place in the seven-county Los Angeles district, which includes the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.

Los Angeles’ 1989 bank robbery rate represented a 7% increase over the year before, and the incidence of bank robberies has been climbing steadily since 1985, according to FBI officials.

An estimated 80% to 85% of people who rob banks in Southern California are captured, in part because of the high-quality photographs provided by surveillance cameras. Yet, in the opinion of some bankers, the high arrest rate does not adequately deter robbers.

The proliferation of bank branches, heavy narcotics use and the region’s extensive highway system are all considered factors in the high bank robbery rate. Recently, extended hours of operation for many branches have also given bandits more opportunity to stage their heists.

In the past, the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department have teamed to run free public-service ads in newspapers and on radio and television. Six of 12 men featured in an ad that ran last September were captured shortly thereafter because of tips that robbery detectives received, LAPD Sgt. Jim Grayson said.

But never before had the bankers association become involved. The standard rate for a full-page ad in The Times is $44,118. Officials of the San Francisco-based trade organization said that by late Monday other newspapers in the region had offered to publish the ad free later in the week.