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Four More Smash & Grab Robberies in California December 16, 2021 (0 comments)
New York, NY--JSA is seeing a marked increase in robberies of jewelry stores, including a dozen smash and grab robberies in California. If you have any information on the cases or suspects below, or if you have a crime or even a suspicious incident at your store, please contact JSA at 212-687-0328 or jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org. In this dangerous time, JSA is reprinting below its recommendations regarding smash and grab robberies.
Four more smash and grab robberies in California:
San Jose, CA; December 2, 2021
Four masked suspects pictured above used hammers to shatter showcases at a retail jewelry store.
Carmel by the Sea, CA; December 7, 2021
Three people got out of a car with sledgehammers and entered a retail jewelry store. They smashed showcases and took merchandise, but when they saw a security guard they fled. The California Highway Patrol was later able stop the car, and two suspects were detained, while the other two were not located.
Rancho Dominguez, CA; December 2, 2021
At 11:30 a.m. several suspects were shopping in a jewelry mall and faked a fight to distract the security guards. They smashed showcases and took jewelry items, and two employees were shoved to the ground.
The robbers had multiple cars waiting with engines running. Police were able to take two suspects into custody and are looking for five more.
Chino Hills, CA; November 27, 2021
At 3:23 p.m. four suspects sprayed a chemical substance at an employee and demanded the employee go to the back of the store. The suspects used tools to smashed several showcases and fled in a waiting vehicle.
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING SMASH AND GRAB ROBBERIES:
1. Do not resist in a smash and grab robbery. In addition to sledgehammers and other dangerous tools, the suspect(s) may be armed with guns.
2. Showcases with burglary-resistant, laminated glass on the front and sides, and special frames, can withstand many blows with a hammer and can prevent or reduce large losses. JSA has not seen robbers take retaliatory action when laminated glass is used and robbers are unable to enter a showcase or are able to take only a small amount of merchandise from a small hole. Furthermore, robbers frequently cut themselves on small holes and leave behind valuable DNA evidence from blood.
3. Having an audible glass breakage alarm on your showcases can scare smash and grab robbers away, who are trying to remain in a target store for less than a minute.
4. Having buzzers on the door can help to keep out potential robbers.
5. Hiring armed, off-duty police officers in the store is a deterrent to smash and grab robbers.
6. Spreading high end watch and loose diamond merchandise among several showcases, and not concentrated in one showcase, can reduce the amount of the loss in a smash and grab robbery.
7. Surveillance photos from eye-level cameras inside and outside the store provide excellent evidence for police. Ceiling cameras too often capture useless photos of the top of heads or hats.
8. Keeping a log book of suspicious incidents, and putting aside and saving surveillance video of suspicious incidents, can be a great help in subsequent investigations.
9. Sharing information and photos among local jewelers and police, and with JSA, regarding casings and suspects can help prevent crime and assist with investigations.