Total Losses from Jewelry-Related Crime in the U.S. Down 12%

In its Annual Crime Report for 2007, the Jewelers’ Security Alliance reported a total of $97.1 million in dollar losses as a result of criminal activity targeting jewelers in the U.S. A total of 1,114 on-premises events (targeting jewelry locations) and 117 off-premises events (away from the victim’s base of operations) were recorded.

The dollar loss amount was an 11.9 percent decrease over the 2006 total, when over $110 million in losses was recorded. On-premises crime losses dropped 26 percent year over year to $57.6 million, and losses in this category were split into three further sections – robbery, theft and burglary.   

The number of robberies decreased 24 percent in 2007, while amount of dollar loss due to robbery decreased by 50.3 percent. Robbery is defined as the taking of property by use of force or fear.

The U.S. states with the highest number robberies, in order of descending occurrence, were California, Texas, Florida and New York, and for burglaries, Florida, Texas, California, New York and New Jersey.

As for off-premises crimes, losses totaled $39.5 million, a 21.5 percent increase over 2006 and the number of these criminal events increased approximately 14 percent. In 2006, nationwide attacks occurred at a rate of 12.9 per month; this number rose to 14.8 per month in 2007.

The majority of these cases were classified as robberies, and in 31 percent of the off-premises robberies in 2007, a gun or knife was displayed. In 29 percent of total off-premises cases, the victim was physically assaulted, usually in response to some level of resistance on the part of the victim.   

The most frequent scenes for off-premises crimes were parking lots (51 percent), hotels/motels (17 percent), residences (16 percent) and restaurants (10 percent).

The JSA also described a suspect profile of the great majority of off-premises losses being perpetrated by male and female Hispanic suspects. “Based on law enforcement reports, the majority of those arrested were found to be from Colombia and residing in the U.S. illegally.

“Local and Federal law enforcement agencies have confirmed the existence of organized criminal groups identified as South American Theft/Robbery Gangs (SATG), which concentrate their criminal activities against the jewelry industry.”

The most active states for off-premises crimes were California, Illinois, Georgia and Florida/New York.