Novel about bank robbery need info?

Okay, first, the films. Unfortunately, due to the lateness of the hour, I can only think of a few films that deal with hostage situations in banks. Check out:

Inside Man (fairly new, easy to find--stars Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster)
Killing Zoe (older, harder to find--stars Eric Stoltz)
Point Break (not sure if it even deals with hostages, but it does deal with bank robberies--stars Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze)
Dog Day Afternoon (oldest of them all, but a classic, so it should be easy to find--stars Al Pacino)

You also definitely need to research the Stockholm Syndrome, which is the name given to the psychological phenomenon of hostages identifying with their captors, often to the point of defending their actions. I cannot think off the top of my head of any books that deal with the syndrome specifically in reference to bank robberies, but the syndrome was first identified after a bank robbery/hostage situation in Sweden in the early 70s. It has since been identified as happening in other types of situations, such as abusive relationships and long term kidnappings, but the original data all dealt with the bank robbery. The doctor who first identified the syndrome is Swedish, but I don't know his name. The syndrome is mentioned quite frequently in books about crime in general, and also in books about psychological aberrations. It shouldn't be too terribly hard to find information on it.

You should also probably read up on hostage negotiators. There have been several books written by former negotiators in the last few years. All negotiators are trained the same way, so it doesn't really matter if you read about an FBI negotiator, or a regular police negotiator, but it would probably be a good idea to read anything you can get your hands on.

Read about SWAT teams. Again, there have been several books written in the last few years by retired SWAT officers, and they give good information about how a SWAT team works. If you are going to include technical information about SWAT teams, be sure to do research on their current weapons, body armor, etc., as they keep up with technological advances. A friend of mine has a son who is on a local SWAT team, and she told me they get and train with new weapons on a regular basis. They also use what would be considered standard military tactics, rather than standard police tactics.

You will also need to be familiar with banks and bank security systems, and also with how bank employees are trained to deal with those types of situations. That may be a little bit harder to research, as I am sure banks would prefer that potential robbers not have all the information, but things like security systems can be researched as security systems in general, vaults can be researched as safes, etc. It's a piecemeal approach, but you should be able to find information on it.

I think if you are going to be doing so much research, one of your most important tools will be a library card if there is a library in your area. Libraries, even if they are small, are invaluable research tools. Also, ask your librarian if the system participates in the Interlibrary Loan Program. That's a program where libraries are able to borrow books from other libraries around the world. If your library does not have a book on a given subject, but you can get the basic information on a book that you need, such as the title and author and ISBN, they can usually borrow it from a larger library for you. We have a really good library system where I live (I worked there for 10 years, and during that time it consistently ranked in the top 10 systems in the US), but it's a popular reading library, so sometimes it's hard to get research materials. However, I had them borrow books for research from libraries all over the US, and even England and France. Also, if there is a good-sized university or college in your area, look into getting a card there, as well. University libraries are research libraries, not popular reading libraries, and they have a lot of obscure and interesting stuff. When my student card from the local university lapsed, I found out I could renew it as a private citizen for just $25 per year--pretty good deal considering it's 6 massive stories of books on every subject under the sun.

I have read quite a bit about similar subjects, so I have a fairly good idea of the basics. If you would like me to give you a basic outline of how bank robberies and hostage situations are handled, please feel free to contact me through this site.

Best wishes on your book ;)