SOUTH BEND — It's every bank teller's worst fear — the next customer could be the one who pulls a gun and demands money. At least one local credit union is now using a dress code to deter robbers.

In a sign clearly posted outside all TCU branches, customers are asked not to wear sunglasses, hats or hoodies inside. Banks in other parts of the country like Seattle, Missouri and Texas are already enforcing customer dress codes. They say it's curbing robberies.

“We have to correctly identify you,” explained TCU Vice President of Marketing and Research Becky Summers. “Legally we have to do that and for other reasons we have to do that as well.”

South Bend Police Capt. Phil Trent agreed it’s a good start from a security prospective, but he said a better solution would be for banks to have better cameras to capture clearer images of suspects. In fact, Trent said only about 10 to 20 percent of banks in the city have good enough cameras with the high resolution needed to better recognize suspects.

“Many [banks] resist [the newer technology], for whatever reason,” Trent told WSBT. “And that's been some of our biggest problems.”

What about complaints the policy is too intrusive for customers?

Summers said the credit union hasn’t received any negative feedback about it so far.

WSBT asked several people in downtown South Bend if they thought it was too intrusive — all said no.

“That’s where the money is,” said one man. “They have to keep it safe, so it’s not unreasonable to ask people to do a few minimum things.”

Still, Trent said the policy could present a problem.

“One of the worries is if the person is going to enter the bank with sunglasses, a hat and a hoodie up, it forces them to make a more dynamic entry because it's going to be presumed it's a robbery from the moment they walk in the door,” he explained.

But Summers said the dress code seems to be working for them.

“It’s not a surprise,” she said. “It’s not like ‘What do you want me to take my hat off for?’ It's really up front to the membership and allows us to work together as a team to get their transactions done.”

Summers also said tellers are usually the ones who ask a customer to remove a hat, sunglasses or hoodie if they can't recognize them.

Other banks were hesitant to talk to WSBT about their security policies, but none said they have a dress code policy. Several acknowledged they have talked about it, but decided against it for whatever reason.

Another local bank said it prefers to handle identification or security problems on an individual basis — if they have a problem with a customer, they’ll approach them rather than post signs.

Another bank told WSBT it usually posts signs around Halloween, banning customers from wearing costumes or masks inside the bank, for obvious reasons.