Read this, everyone but Roosevelt Road Robber

Of course, you all remember Harry and Marv, the idiot burglars outsmarted by 8-year-old Kevin in the 1990 cult classic, "Home Alone."

After each heist, Marv would stop up sinks, turn on faucets, letting the world know the "Wet Bandits" had struck again. Of course, at the end of the movie, cops are hauling them away confident they'd have a whole string of burglaries to pin on Harry and Marv, who had left their personalized calling card in so many homes.

From the Wet Bandits to Bonnie and Clyde, there's always been almost a glamorization of people who steal for a living. And there's been little doubt many criminals enjoy reading their press clippings.

So the question arises as to whether those of us who create those press clippings are unintentionally but subtly aiding and abetting such criminal enterprise. Frankly, it's a big reason why we usually don't name specific street gangs -- particularly when they've done something violent.

The question arose again the other day when the FBI announced a new serial bank robber -- the Roosevelt Road Robber. The guy hit four banks -- in Glen Ellyn, Oakbrook Terrace, Wheaton and Elmhurst -- all on or near Roosevelt Road.

One editor questioned whether we were "glorifying the robber by giving him a cool name" and if it actually helps the FBI catch suspects. "I'd love to see some kind of data on that," he said.

First of all, Roosevelt Road Robber ain't exactly the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, or even the Wet Bandits. But more to the point, my feeling is if the people charged with bringing bank robbers to justice think the catchy nicknames help, we probably ought to play along.

(A side note: Yes, I'm painfully aware how many of you think we're unhelpful and annoyingly politically correct for not naming the race of suspects, even when that's about all the info we've got. Happened again when we ran an admittedly grainy picture of the alleged Roosevelt Road Robber. "Am I looking for a white male, a black male, a Hispanic male, an Asian male, what? The photo shows nothing. What type of individual should I be looking for the next time I'm standing in line at my bank?" an annoyed e- mailer wrote. To which I would say, "How much help would it be if I told you the suspect is white?" Contrary to the belief some people seem to hold dear, we don't do this to protect non-white criminals.)

So, what's the point of giving these criminals memorable names? It catches the public's attention. And, it might assist local police in saving time when word is dispatched that, say, the Roosevelt Road Robber appears to have struck again.

"I would do it as a matter of course after the second robbery," William Rehder, a retired FBI agent who wrote a book on bank robbers told us for a story on this topic. "It's just a shorthand way to refer to that particular bandit. When the word goes out on the radio of another holdup, that name brings to mind all the previous robberies without having to go into all the background."

And just to show you our hearts are in the right place, I have included another shot of the man believed to be the Roosevelt Road Robber.

I think we can rule out the Wet Bandits.