CHICAGO (WLS) — There’s been a rash of automated teller machine (ATM) thefts and attempted thefts in Chicago and across the country, and the ABC 7 I-Team discovered a surprising reason why: There are no federal laws against stealing from independently operated ATMs.

According to Chicago police, more than half (60%) of all ATMs in the country are owned by independent parties. It is precisely these ATMs that are being targeted by cunning thieves who have struck at least twenty times in the past two weeks.

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Early Thursday morning, surveillance cameras at a South Side gas station captured two men driving a truck through the business’ security gate and front door, then walking out with an ATM in hand.

If the two suspects had taken the ATM from a bank, it would be an FBI matter and they could face federal charges of bank robbery, including lengthy prison sentences.

But lately, burglars in Chicago seem to have learned that when they steal an ATM owned by an independent party, there is no federal jurisdiction.

Federal regulations prohibiting bank robbery charges can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years, while state laws for theft carry a maximum sentence of five years. It’s a glaring security gap that lawmakers in Washington have acknowledged.

“The bad guys know that if you rob an independently operated ATM, say in a grocery store, at a sporting event or some other location, you’re not going to incur the wrath of the FBI and the federal authorities,” said U.S. Rep. John Rose, a Republican from Tennessee.

Rose has introduced legislation that would change that. If passed, the “Safe Access to Cash Act of 2023” would include all ATMs, both independent and bank-owned, under the federal Bank Robbery Act that was passed in 1934, long before ATMs were ever created.

Rose told the I-Team the legislation has bipartisan support.

“The crime is essentially the same in every way,” Rose said. “And so it seems like the punishment should be the same for those who commit these crimes. We’ve seen ATM theft increase 600 percent in just the last two years.”

One reason thefts may be increasing is that many freestanding ATMs are only loosely attached to the floor or wall, or are not secured at all other than by a cable plugged into the wall.

Chicago police say a group of suspects attempted to steal an ATM from a South Side store using a pickup truck Friday morning, but were unsuccessful, likely because the machine was securely fastened to the store’s property.

Bruce Renard, executive director of the National ATM Council, an organization that represents independent ATM owners, calls the problem a “national crisis” and says the law needs to be updated.

“Federal law enforcement is trying to combat this with one, if not both, hands tied behind their backs because of the 90-year-old law that we’re working under now,” Renard said.

Federal statistics show that there are fewer than 5,000 banks in the United States and more than 500,000 ATMs spread around the world. 60% of these ATMs are independently owned.

Banks also operate thousands of off-premises ATMs that are not normally covered by federal law, and those too have been hit by wily thieves who know enough to avoid federal time. Renard told the I-Team that’s why the 90-year-old bank robbery law needs to be changed.

“The Safe Access to Cash Act is really vital for our entire nation going forward, to ensure what the law says, safe access to cash,” Renard explained. “It’s something that we take for granted in America, but as they say, you don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it, and that’s under attack right now.”