There appears to be a new insurgence of bank robbers kicking in the doors of America’s financial institutions.

According to the latest FBI crime statistics, women are pulling off nearly one in 10 of all bank heists that occur in the US, which is almost double the rate it was a decade ago.

Forensic sociologist Rosemary Erikson is a researcher who has been following the progress of female bank robbers over the course of the last few years. She suggests that there are a couple of reasons for this outlaw uprising. “One is more independence on the part of women, a general cultural thing,” Erickson says. “The other, more important thing: it’s a function of the economy.

She also reports that females who commit bank robberies often have various distinctions between that of their male counterparts. “Women have always been more likely to rob for need and not for the thrill,” Erickson says. “It’s more likely they’re going to be robbing for diapers for the baby or something.”

She also adds that violence in bank robberies is still predominantly skewed towards men, and that women who commit these types of crimes prefer to use notes as their method of persuasion.

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