Lemondrop

Women are breaking out on their own -- and breaking into more banks.

Police across the country say bank robberies by females are on the rise. While they still make up only about 6 percent of all hold-ups, woman-led robberies have risen from 5.4 percent in 2003 to 5.9 percent in 2008, according to FBI statistics.

Before scenes from "Set it Off" pop into your head -- authorities stress that these female felons usually slip notes to tellers instead of brandishing guns. Such cases in New York, where in one county three female robbers hit banks five times over four months, have recently caught criminologists' eyes. Female crooks have also hit in California, Georgia and Virginia.

Robert McCrie, a professor of security management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, expects to see the number of female bank robbers rise because it's not as risky or physical of a crime as, say, hijacking a plane.

"It's now a situation where it's becoming an equal-opportunity crime," said McCrie. "There's no barrier to women being bank robbers. It's not something where you require more muscle mass."

Police believe the sagging economy is the culprit behind women's increasing commissions of crime. A recent study from the Police Executive Research Forum found increases across the country in financially motivated and related crimes, such as robbery and burglary.

Hmm, we think we'll just cut out our Starbucks habit instead.