A violent movie about a bank heist in Los Angeles called "Den Of Thieves" seems to be the movie of choice among cash-in-transit robbers, according to journalist and author Anneliese Burgess.
She posted on her Facebook page on Wednesday that according to her information, the movie serves as inspiration for robbers before hitting their targets. "I am told this is the new #CITrobber movie of choice. One guy tells me 'crews' watch it the night before, when they are camping in a safehouse to 'psych' themselves up."
The movie, about a police officer attempting to prevent the cash-in-transit robbery of a van destined for the U.S. Ferderal Reserve, stars Gerard Butler and rapper 50 Cent.
Burgess has just released a book detailing the scourge of cash-in-transit heists titled "Heist! South Africa's Cash-in-Transit Epidemic Uncovered". Incidentally, there has been a recent increase in these robberies, with a number of incidents recorded in the past seven days alone.
According to Burgess, it isn't unusual for violent movies to serve as inspiration for CIT robbers. She says on Facebook: "In the Nineties, cops often found copies of the movie 'Heat' in robbers' homes, – now it seems 'Den of Thieves' is the new inspo. Reality is sometimes more hectic than fiction."