Crimes targeting jewellery retailers in the US are at ‘historically high levels’ according to a new report published by the Jewelers’ Security Alliance (JSA).
JSA recorded 1,621 crimes against jewellery businesses in 2023, a 27 per cent decline from the previous year. The 2,211 crimes documented in 2022 were the highest on record.
Despite the significant decline in the volume of crimes, the estimated losses increased by 2.9 per cent to $USD133.2 million ($AUD203.61 million).
President John Kennedy said that while the reduction in overall crimes suggests the industry was moving in a positive direction, he remains deeply concerned.
“I’ve never seen such fear by jewellers about crime. Jewellers are more concerned about crime now than they were when things were worse. That’s partly because there’s a lot more information out there. Local news is all crime, all the time,” he told JCK Online.
“Criminals are more likely to get caught earlier in their career, and jewellers are a little smarter about not resisting [during robberies]. Because of severe gun laws, a lot of criminals are not as likely to take a gun with them.”
He continued: “They know if they get caught with a gun, it will be much worse. Even the gangs that rob on-the-road salespeople are using knives instead of guns. Consequently, not as many people get shot.”
The report found that the most common time of day for robberies was between 5 and 6 pm. Tuesday and Wednesday were the most likely days for a robbery, while Saturday was the least likely.
April had the fewest crimes targeting jewellery businesses, while July and December were the worst months.
The number of ‘grab-and-runs’ decreased by 37 per cent, which the report attributed to the decline in mask-wearing following the COVID-19 pandemic. There was also a sharp increase in ‘off-premise’ crimes, increasing from 65 to 100.
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