Jewelry crime rose in the first six months of 2012, the Jewelers Security Alliance reported.
However, while the number of crimes rose, the overall dollar value lost is the second lowest in six years, despite the big gains in diamond and gold prices. That’s because most of the crimes were offenses such as grab-and-runs and three-minutes burglaries, which typically don’t net big hauls.
On the positive side, JSA has not recorded any jeweler killings in the first six months of the year. (The person exhibiting at the California flea market does not fit the JSA’s definition of a retail jeweler, because he did not have a storefront.) And arrests remain at a high level.
Also down: off-premise losses, but that’s particularly because there are fewer salespeople out on the road.
“There are less people on the road, so there are less hits,” says JSA president John Kennedy. “It is not as lucrative for the criminals.”
On the negative side, robberies remain at a very high level.
“It’s a mixed picture,” Kennedy says. “Crime remains extraordinarily serious.”
CRIME STATISTICS
| First Half 2012 | First Half 2011 | |
| Robberies | 159 | 168 |
| Burglaries | 157 | 148 |
| Thefts | 461 | 410 |
| Off-premise crimes | 37 | 45 |
| Total crimes | 844 | 771 |
| Total dollar value lost | $41.1 million |
$40.3 million |
| Arrests | 273 |
280 |
| Homicides | 0 |
2 |
Source: Jewelers Security Alliance
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