Okla. Bankers Association Urges Banks To Adopt 'No Hat, No Hood' Policy

Former Bank Teller Sarah Peyton said her moments face to face with an armed bank robber felt like forever.

"He pulled the shotgun out and cocked it in my face," Peyton said about the 2012 robbery.

The suspect was wearing a baseball cap low over part of his face.

"He looked like he had just gotten off work," Peyton said.

The suspect was captured on surveillance video and eventually caught.

Now with an increase in bank robberies, the Oklahoma Bankers Association hopes more banks adopt it's "no hat, no hood" policy.

3/22/2014 Related Story: Suspect Sought After Attempted Bank Robbery In NW OKC

"It's voluntary, we don't push it on them, but it helps us," Elaine Dodd with the Oklahoma Bankers Association said.

Dodd told News 9, between 2012 and 2013, bank robberies in Oklahoma nearly tripled. According to Dodd, there were 63 bank robberies in 2013.

She hopes more banks get better surveillance cameras and place them lower, if they are going allow customers to where hats.

Dodd doesn't expect "no hat, no hood" to become a mandate but wishes more banks would adopt the policy.

As for Peyton, the bank where she used to work still allows hats and hoods to be worn by its customers. She thinks Arvest bank should change its policy.

"I would feel a lot better about that, because you never know who's walking in," Peyton added.