Can a smile prevent a bank robbery?

From MSNBC:

Whatâs the best way to make a bank robber turn around and walk out the door empty-handed? Try a handshake and a smile.

Excessive friendliness is the key to the âSafecatchâ system created by FBI Special Agent Larry Carr. The premise is that an overdose of courtesy will unnerve would-be robbers and get them to rethink the crime.

âIf youâre a legitimate customer, you think, âThis is the friendliest person Iâve met in my life.â If youâre a bad guy, it scares the lights out of you,â said Drew Ness, a vice president of Bellevue-based First Mutual Bank, who advocates the approach.

Carr, who has taught the method to employees at 16 Washington banks over the past few years, credits the system in part for the drop in Seattle bank robberies from 80 in the first three months of 2006 to 44 during the same period this year.

Hat tip: Oliver Burkeman’s very interesting book Help! How to be slightly happier and get a bit more done.