The total dollar losses from crimes against jewelry firms in the U.S. declined 5.6 percent, from $103.5 million in 2008 to $97.7 million, according to the Jewelers Security Alliance’s 2009 Annual Crime Report.

The report also states that the total number of crimes that were reported increased 3.5 percent, from 1,505 to 1,557.

Some other significant trends or changes in 2009 were:

• Off-premises attacks, primarily against traveling salespersons, declined 26.7 percent, from 187 to 137, the lowest total since the 1980s. Two major reasons for this decline were greater enforcement by local police and the FBI, and a significant decrease in salespersons on the road because of the economy.
• The number of on-premises robberies, primarily of retail jewelers, increased by 14.2 percent from the previous year, and dollar losses increased 27.1 percent.
• There were 58 rooftop burglaries of retail jewelers in 2009, a sharp increase from previous years, with Florida being the most active state.
• There were 520 arrests in 2009 of suspects who committed crimes against the jewelry industry, a 22.4 percent increase from the previous year.

JCK