2007 STATISTICS ON CRIME AGAINST
JEWELRY FIRMS IN THE UNITED STATES

Note: Dollar losses and the number of criminal events decreased by substantial amounts. The decrease in the total number of criminal events can be attributed to the significant decrease of Grab and Run losses, which went from 419 in 2006 to 240 in 2007.

Available data regarding all on-premises crime categories indicates a 26.0 percent decrease in dollar losses and a 12.1 percent decrease in criminal events.

* JSA Crime definitions: Robbery – Taking of property by use of force or fear. Burglary – Entering premises after closing with intent to commit a crime. Includes hiding in a jewelry location, taking product and breaking out after closing. Theft – Taking of property without force or fear. Includes crimes such as check and credit card fraud, distraction crimes, diamond switches, sneak thefts and shipping losses that present evidence of criminal activity.

Note: In 2007 the JSA received 1,114 on-premises crime reports compared to 1,267 reports in 2006.

Number of Robbery Events
The number of robberies in 2007 decreased 24.1 percent. There were 180 robberies reported to the JSA in 2007 compared to 237 in 2006. Law enforcement reported 107 arrests for on-premises robberies in 2007.

Robbery Dollar Losses
Robbery dollar losses decreased by 50.3 percent compared to 2006. Losses for 2007 were $18.0 million compared to $36.2 million for 2006.

Note: Chart reflects percentage of total number of on-premises robberies

Most Active Month/Robbery
Most Active: October (13.5 percent of total robbery events)
Least Active: Feb/May (6.6 percent of total robbery events)
Average Robberies per month: 15 (In 2006 there were 20 robberies per month)

Most Active Time of Day/Robbery
In 2007 the greatest number of robberies occurred between 4 PM and 4:59 PM . The second most active time period was between 11AM and 11:59 AM. It should be noted there was no 60 minute time period, during a normal work day, when robberies did not occur.

Most Active Days of Week/Robbery
Robbery events occurred with similar frequency throughout the week. Tuesday, as in 2006, was the most active day. Sunday, as in past years, when many jewelry businesses are not open for business, was the least likely day for a robbery to occur.

Largest Robbery Loss -$900K
During an armed takeover robbery at a retail jewelry business in Stockbridge, GA on March 3, 2007, robbers forced a sales associate to open display cases and fled with over $900,000 in jewelry and expensive watches.

Percentage of Robbery Events With a Gun/Violence

Robbery events with violence:

2007	2006	2005
29%	30%	38%

Robbery events with a gun :

2007	2006	2005
77%	70%	69%

No jewelers were homicide victims for a period of approximately 19 months, between 3/23/06 and 11/9/07. On 11/9/07 a NYC jeweler was stabbed to death by an employee who was caught stealing jewelry. In another case a jewelry thief died after being hit by a bus while escaping on a bike. Another robber was shot and killed by a jeweler who managed to take the robbers gun away from him during a struggle. While trying to escape, following an armed robbery, a robber was killed during a shoot out with a jeweler in Phoenix , AZ.

The frequency of safe attacks increased by 39 percent in 2007 compared to 2006 . Safe attacks represented approximately 8 percent of the total number of burglaries against the jewelry industry in 2007. Dollar losses from safe attacks in 2007 totaled approximately $3.5 million.

These occurrences are identified as “Three Minute Burglaries” because that is the approximate time required to complete this crime. Usually committed in the middle of the night by attacking a glass front door or window of a retail establishment, and then smashing display cases and stealing out-of-safe merchandise visible from the exterior of the store. The B3M category represents approximately 80 percent of the total number of burglaries experienced by the jewelry industry. Out of 327 burglaries reported in 2007, 263 were B3M.
Largest B3M loss: $761K It occurred on 3/5/07 in San Antonio , TX . Burglars smashed the front door of a retail jewelry business at about 5:20 AM and fled with jewelry left out of a safe before the authorities could respond.

This section provides statistical data regarding criminal attacks occurring away from the victim's business base of operations. For example, attacks against traveling jewelry salespersons, trunk and remount show operators, couriers, firms exhibiting at jewelry shows, retailers attacked away from their place of business, and other industry members traveling with jewelry.

Trunk/Remount Shows. In 2007 the JSA received four reports regarding Trunk/Remount show losses.

THEFT - $3.7 MILLION IN LOSSES

In 2007 off-premises theft dollar losses totaled $3.7 million compared to $ 8.9 million in losses for 2006 . Unattended losses are still occurring with frequency and account for about 18 percent of the total number of off-premises attacks. Unless expensive insurance riders have been purchased this type of loss is not generally covered by insurance.

Note: Percentages shown above reflect the percentage of the total number of off-premises losses. *The largest unattended loss was for $370K . It occurred in Skokie . IL on 9/12/07. The victim, left his line unattended in a vehicle at about 7:30PM, while he stopped to purchase some food after a day of making calls.

The most common technique used by thieves to identify traveling jewelry salespersons is to wait for them to appear at a retail jewelry store and then follow them to one of the listed crime scenes.

In the great majority of off-premises losses reported to the JSA, in which suspect descriptions were provided or arrests made, male and female Hispanic suspects were indicated. 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.

MOST ACTIVE STATES – 27 STATES REPORTING (2006-29 States)
States with losses: AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, TX, UT, VA, and WA.

Note: Percentages shown reflect a percentage of the total number of off-premises losses. The information provided in this chart demonstrates that 69 percent of all off-premises crime occurred in just five states during 2007. It should be noted that the activity by the SATG in California has almost double in 2007, compared to 2006.

* Note: The cities of Miami , FL and Atlanta , GA have also experienced significant activity regarding attacks on traveling jewelry salesperson.

* All crime categories, robbery, burglary and theft, on-premises and off-premises, were included in the preparation of this chart. “Arrests” refers to the number of persons arrested during 2007 for crimes committed in 2007.