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Jewelry Crime Incidents Down, But Value of Losses Up in 2013 April 02, 2014 (0 comments)

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New York, NY— The total number of crimes against the U.S. jewelry industry decreased from 1,538 in 2012 to 1,414 in 2013, a decrease of 8.1%, according to the Jewelers’ Security Alliance’s 2013 Annual Crime Report, released March 28. But total dollar losses rose from $60.2 million in 2012 to $66.5 million in 2013, or 10.5%, due to an increased number of million dollar and multi-million dollar crimes.

John Kennedy, president of JSA, said, “A relatively few large losses masked the continued great progress that the FBI and local law enforcement has made in helping to reduce jewelry crime in the United States. Last year saw the arrest of 422 criminals who attacked the jewelry industry, including smash and grab robbery gangs, home invasion gangs, murderers, and other violent criminals. The increased sharing of crime information by the diamond, jewelry and watch industry has played an important role in this progress.”

Robbery dollars increased significantly: a 23.1% increase over 2012. In both 2012 and 2013, California led as the state with the most jewelry robberies. Texas rose from number three in 2012 to number two in 2013; Florida remained number four both years. In 2013, New York replaced Pennsylvania in the top four; it came in third this year to Pennsylvania’s second last year. 38 states in total experienced an on-premises jewelry robbery, but 45.7% of all on-premises jewelry robberies occurred in one of the top four states. February was the most active month for robberies in 2013 and September the least; Monday and Wednesday the most active days for robberies, and Sunday the least.

Of the six victims who died during a jewelry crime in 2013, five were jewelers or relatives of a jeweler. One was a traveling salesperson.

71.2% of burglaries (thefts occurring while the store is not occupied, vs. a robbery, which occurs when the store is occupied) were “three-minute burglaries” of merchandise left in showcases overnight. But the biggest increase was in rooftop-entry burglaries, which increased by 89% from 18 nationwide in 2012 to 34 in 2013.

Mondays and Wednesdays are the most common for robberies, according to JSA's statistics. Opening and closing times both continue to be the most active times for robberies, with closing (between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.) slightly more frequent than opening (between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.) Chart: JSA

JSA’s published statistics don’t break down robberies by type of store (i.e. guild vs. chain), but Kennedy told The Centurion that robberies at very high-end stores often get more media attention.

Highlights from the report including the following: 

Kennedy said that the long-term trends demonstrate the strong progress that has been made. “Jewelers have become more knowledgeable and informed on security each year, but the need for constant vigilance by industry personnel will never go away.”

The full report is available here.

 

Top image: Sharilopatin.com

 

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