A CSR escorted a customer to their safe deposit box, the box was opened in a secure room, the customer is putting the box back into the safe and says, oops, one more thing and opend the lid briefly and throws in an envelope. The CSR thinks she sees a hand gun in the box. She understands that she is not supposed to see what is in the box and does not say anything to the customer and the customer leaves.

Couple of questions, is it legal for the customer to store a gun in their box?

Do we have a legal right to question the customer as to what is in the box?

Our agreement states that "We have no knowledge of the contents in your box..." also "You agree not to store anything in your safe deposit box that is inherently dangerous to nearby persons and property."

We do not feel this customer is a "danger" but don't know where we stand legally???

Lot's of guns are stored in safe deposit boxes. Since it's not "inherently dangerous to nearby persons and property" you had better drop the whole issue.

The rule that I would apply is: "Would you like to see whatever action to take on the front page of your local paper?"

Your contract may also state that the customer may not store anything explosive or combustible in their box. Even that would not keep the customer from parking an unloaded gun in your vault- but it would certainly apply to ammunition.

If you saw the customer bring the gun into the bank - that would be another issue. Some states have laws that prohibit bringing firearms into places of business (Texas does).

Better than a dead fish!

That would be dangerous to persons and property!

Thanks folks.

Just curious - if you read in the paper that your customer's spouse was shot, would you/could you/should you tell the authorities that the customer had a firearm in their possession?
I don't know the answer- but it could put the bank in an interesting predicament if the bank knew about the gun but withheld that information.
Leslie
Leslie

And there is another good reason NOT to look in their box!!! Sometimes ignorance really is bliss!

I can't think of a better place for a gun to be stored than in a bank safe deposit box. If local law prohibits carrying a firearm into the bank I don't have a problem with confronting this customer over that fact. He is the one that opened the box in a non-private area. We don't know the contents until he shows us. In this case he breached the privacy.

If this guy's wife gets shot and he was in the box the day before the shooting would I tell the police he has a gun in his box? That's a tough one. If you do tell the police and he's investigated because of that but the real killer shows up this guy is going to be quite perturbed and will likely sue over the breach of privacy contract we've all provided our customers. The bank would probably lose. On the other hand, if it turns out that is the one piece of info needed to send the guy away for life, I can't see any judge in the land finding fault with the bank for helping solve the crime. Hopefully the local cops think of subpoenaing bank records since the spouse is always the first suspect. Then you have the cover you need to spill your guts on what you know about the safe deposit box.

I would think the same type of reasoning could be used for persons who collect knives, like my cousin. He has several that have beautifully carved handles and are considered collector's items. But, in the wrong hands, they could also be used to do bodily harm. How do you read what is in a person's heart and head?

Right now there are 750,000 deer hunters stomping around in Michigan's woods with better guns than used by some of the legitimate armies in the world. We have a bank next door to a sporting goods shop. Guys walk through the bank lobby with their guns and nobody bats an eyelash. Guns aren't bad, but some of their owners are. So around here a gun in the safe deposit box is not something that would raise many eyebrows.

Steve- S/D boxes in Michigan must be verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry long to hold those deer rifles.

Hmmmmmm Several years ago we had a loan officer "safekeep" guns in the vault for a customer. Upon discovering this, they were immediately removed.

I would think that the police would be in with a warrant to search any SDB that a suspected murderer might have with the bank.

Opinions are my own and may cause side effects such as; dizziness, irritability, upset stomach, and flushing.