SECURITY FOR JEWELERS AT HOME
Crimes at the homes of jewelers stand as a frightening reminder for people in the jewelry industry that security is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week job. When a jeweler finishes his or her business day, and locks the store, office or manufacturing facility, the need for careful security does not stop.

There has recently been a large increase in the number of jewelers kidnapped at home and brought back to their stores for a robbery. It is necessary for jewelers to take serious security measures to discourage a home invasion or kidnapping before it starts. By studying cases over many years, JSA has developed a series of security recommendations for jewelers to follow at home:

1. CASING. Attacks on jewelers' homes are preceded by some form of casing, in which the criminals follow a jeweler, stake out his home or business, and try to find out information about him, his patterns and his family. All jewelers should be careful at all times to see if they are being watched or followed. Are people sitting in a car near your home or business for too long? Is a car following you when you leave the store? Do you have suspicious phone calls or suspicious "customers" visiting your store? The best opportunity for stopping a home invasion is to spot suspects during the casing period and to call the police.

2. VARY ROUTE. Vary your route and time of travel to and from work. Be alert to people following or watching you. To determine if you are being followed, drive very slowly and observe if any vehicles are hanging back and unwilling to pass you.

3. SUSPICIOUS INCIDENT LOGBOOK. Many jewelers have found it helpful to keep a suspicious incident logbook at their business premises in which all employees can record things that appear to be "not quite right." This should also be done at home. The log can be used to write down details such as license plate numbers, names used, time, physical description and other information regarding suspicious incidents that may later be helpful to police.

4. TRAINING FAMILY MEMBERS. Even the youngest family member in your household needs some instruction about the dangers of the jewelry business and how they must cooperate. Family members should be trained not to give out information on the phone, not to open the door to unknown people, to be extremely careful regarding delivery personnel, and to watch for suspicious people watching the house. Even temporary visitors, such as an in-law or babysitter, need specific instructions.

5. PHYSICAL SECURITY AT HOME. Security features should be a very important factor in selecting the residence in which you choose to live. Jewelers should evaluate such issues as a dead-end vs. heavily traveled street, the closeness of neighbors, and the garage or parking set-up. Other issues of physical security must also be given careful consideration, such as having proper locks, an alarm system and good lighting. There are jewelers who highly recommend a dog at home for warning and protection.

6. NO LARGE SAFE OR JEWELRY MERCHANDISE AT HOME. Never keep jewelry merchandise or a large safe at home. Personal jewelry may be kept in a small, concealed safe in a floor or wall. Consider keeping valuable personal jewelry in a bank safe deposit box when not being used.

7. TRUSTED NEIGHBORS. Whether near your home or business, trusted neighbors can provide additional eyes for spotting suspicious behavior by those casing you. Discuss with trusted neighbors your special risks as a jeweler and enlist their help.

8. HOUSEHOLD HELP. Every household worker who comes into your home puts you at greater risk. Cleaning ladies, lawn help, babysitters, painting and remodeling people, and a long list of workers with access and knowledge of your household all pose some risk. Even if they are honest themselves, they may have boyfriends, spouses, relatives or friends who are criminals, or they may unintentionally provide information to those who then target you. You must screen, monitor and supervise all household help very carefully. In the case of a nanny or someone with close contact with your household, or in the case of someone who lives with you, a background investigation of that person is suggested.

9. TELEPHONE. Have an unlisted and unpublished home phone number. Keep a charged cell phone with you at all times, including at your bedside at night.

10. SOCIAL NETWORKS. Do not put personal information about your home, family members and such things as vacations on social networking sites.

11. CAR PANIC ALARM. Some jewelers keep their car keys next to their bed so that they can hit the remote panic alarm of their car to help scare off intruders at the first hint of trouble.

12. ESTABLISH CONTACT WITH YOUR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT. Before any problem develops, contact your local police department and get to know someone in a supervisory position. Explain to the supervisor or chief the special crime risks of jewelers so that if you do have a problem, you will be calling someone you know.

13. SECURITY CODE PHRASE. Jewelers should consider having a family security code phrase that can be used to alert a family member on the phone to a crime problem. The code phrase must not raise the suspicions of criminals holding the jeweler or family hostage.

Assume criminal gangs will use any means, including violence, to carry out a home invasion and robbery. If a jeweler is a victim of a kidnapping/robbery, the jeweler and all family members and others involved should cooperate fully with the criminals or risk violence.

REDUCING THE RISK OF ROBBERY
If a retail jeweler follows basic security rules, the risk of a robbery can be greatly reduced. The message you want to send to robbers casing your store is: "We take security very seriously here. If you attempt to victimize us, you stand a good chance of being identified, caught and going to jail." If these recommendations are followed, you can greatly reduce the chances of having an armed robbery:

1. Do not open or close the store alone. One person should lock or unlock the doors, while a second person observes from a safe distance outside with a cell phone, in order to be able to summon the police if required.

2. Never let a stranger into your place of business before or after business hours. Check carefully the identity of all delivery personnel and other workers.

3. Use a buzzer system to admit customers to your store. If you feel that locked doors are not appropriate in your community, use a doorbell or chime to alert you that someone has entered your store. Follow fire codes that require a fast release from the inside, and that will permit armed robbers a rapid exit so that a violent incident isn’t provoked.

4. Have at least two employees on the floor at all times. The chance of armed robbery goes up if there is only one person on the floor.

5. Look at and greet all customers who enter your store. Criminals casing your store don’t like to be noticed.

6. Use and properly maintain a visible video camera and recording system in your store. An obvious camera system acts as a deterrent to crime, and helps identify criminals who commit a crime in your store, or even who case your store with the intention of committing a future crime. If you have a second, concealed recorder in your store, or offsite recording capability, you will still have visual evidence of the criminals even if they take the disk or hard drive from the main recording system after a crime.

7. Use display cases that have burglary resistant or reinforced glass on the sides as well as the top. This will further slow down the robber who is smashing cases. It is recommended that at least those showcases containing high-end goods be constructed of special glass. Many robbers have wound up with a small "take" as a result of showcases made of hardened glass that took them many blows and a great deal of time to break.

8. Have a highly visible one-way mirror installed on your premises so that potential robbers may think that someone is watching them from the other side. Robbers may be deterred by their fear of the "unknown," that is, someone watching them from the other side of the mirror, and by fear of what the unknown person might do.

9. Have an "alert system" in place for your store. If you believe you have suspicious persons in your store, have a code word or phrase to alert the other employees in your store that you believe a crime may be about to occur. A phrase such as, "Did Mr. Smith's ring come in today?" will be effective in alerting the staff, and will not disturb genuine customers. Employees should pass along the code word to their fellow employees until the entire staff is on notice of a suspicious situation.

10. If you have a suspicious situation but no criminal event is yet underway, have one of your employees walk out of the store in a very visible manner, carrying and dialing a cell telephone. Suspicious persons will be concerned that they have already been spotted, while genuine customers will scarcely notice. If the employee going outside can do so in a safe manner, he or she should also note car descriptions and license plate numbers.

11. Split your higher value merchandise among different display cases. Robbers very frequently smash cases and remove goods themselves, rather than demand that the jeweler open the cases or safe. Time is of the essence for the robber who wants to get out of your store quickly. Making the robber's job slower and more difficult will reduce the amount the robber can easily scoop up and take.

12. Consider not displaying a significant percentage of the goods most tempting to criminals, such as high-end diamonds and watches.

13. Some jewelers follow the practice of not keeping their valuable diamond inventory in the safe during the day, but rather conceal it elsewhere in the store so that criminals will overlook these diamonds if there is a robbery. These jewelers keep a decoy supply of stones in the safe to use if there is an armed robbery. If your store follows this procedure, be aware that gangs may case your store and ask to see diamonds for the specific purpose of observing where you keep them. They will watch where you go to get the diamonds you are showing.

14. Be vigilant for individuals casing your store, that is, observing your premises and procedures as preparation for a robbery. Keep a suspicious incident log in a notebook, giving times, dates, descriptions, license plate numbers and any other details which may later be helpful. Report suspicions to the police. Get to know your local police, and discuss with them the special problems of jewelers.

15. Develop a neighborhood alert system, passing along warnings by phone, fax or e-mail to other jewelers close by. Share information with any local jewelers' crime alert network in your state or area and with JSA.

16. During times of special risk at your store, such as during trunk shows or special events calling for unusually high value on your premises, consider hiring an off-duty police officer to serve as a security guard, preferably in his police uniform.

17. Retail jewelers occasionally ask if man traps and metal detectors installed at their doors will deter armed robbers. Few retail jewelers have such systems, which are difficult to have function in a retail store in a practical manner. Furthermore, such a system might actually bring about violence by robbers, such as firing a gun, if the robbers set off an alarm or if they are caught in a mantrap.