Security and Insurance: Covering Your Assets
September 06, 08
It is all too easy to be scared by news reports, movies and even urban legends when it comes to stories of crime, but a look at the crime statistics put out by the Jewelers Security Alliance (JSA), the industry's crime watchdog, actually makes for comforting reading.
There was just one homicide recorded between the end of March 2006 and mid-September 2007, which occurred when a jeweler was stabbed to death by an employee who was caught stealing jewelry. In 2006, there were two recorded homicides, and five in the prior year. The explanation for the drop in crime, says John Kennedy, president of the JSA, is due to the increased attention paid to jewelry crime by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.
However, the reason for the increased interest in jewelry crime by these agencies can be traced back to the work of the JSA itself. “JSA wants to take some credit,” says Kennedy. The organization spearheaded an extensive lobbying campaign in 1999-2000, coinciding with the fall in most crime rates since 2000.
As a result of the lobbying, he says, there has been a notable upsurge in law enforcement help, as well as much more crime information sharing between jewelers. The situation has been helped by the increased proliferation of the Internet, allowing for the instantaneous sharing of information that can be used to prevent and solve crimes. In addition, the declining crime figures can also be seen as part of a trend of falling crime rates in many areas that goes back to the 1990s. For example, homicide rates have greatly fallen, especially in large urban areas. New York would, in the past, have had upwards of 2,000 homicides a year, a figure that has now dropped to between 500 and 600 annually.
Nevertheless, even with these drops in criminal activity, Kennedy stresses that crimes against jewelers have fallen over and beyond the expected rate. One reason is that jewelry crime is most commonly carried out by gangs rather than opportunistic criminals. The police have been active in taking hundreds and hundreds of these gang members off the streets, weakening the gangs and reducing their numbers. “These are not drug addicts and common criminals” says Kennedy. “They are professionals who carry out jewelry crime every day. If an individual carries out 40 to 50 crimes a week, it makes a big dent when they are taken off the streets. Although they are eventually replaced in the gang, it takes a while for them to take off again.”
As well as arresting these criminals, Kennedy also says that crime numbers, especially homicides against jewelers, have fallen because jewelers themselves have been taught that they should not resist if they are the victim of a robbery. “Back in 1992, there were 20 to 30 homicides each year,” says Kennedy. “Even ten years ago there were still 12 to 15 each year. Now they have a greater understanding that resistance is futile. That's why they have insurance.”
The work of the JSA as an educational organization has also contributed to the increased safety of those in the trade. The non-profit trade association has a membership base of around 20,000 and an operating budget of $1 million a year.
One of its most useful activities is the weekly email alert it sends out to members detailing the latest crimes, warning of scams and issuing photographs of suspects. The organization also works closely with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies and hands over pictures of suspects and other intelligence to them. The JSA, says Kennedy, is in daily contact with these agencies. Despite the relatively small operating budget, Kennedy says that the organization receives considerable support from the industry. A recent fundraising event, raised, "with little prodding," $1.4 million to help fund the organization's latest innovation – neighborhood networks. And, as proof of Kennedy's work, he recently received the lifetime achievement award from AGS.
The neighborhood networks scheme is being run in conjunction with Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. and Jewelers of America. The idea behind the partnership is to organize hundreds of local crime-prevention networks. Jewelers will then be able to share information with other jewelers in their networks as well as work closely with local police.
Criminals, says Kennedy, have also discovered that jewelers are not the easy target that they were once seen as in the past. However, he says that people continue to make the same mistakes that make them susceptible to crime. Traveling salespeople are especially at risk, he says. "They continue to leave large value amounts in their cars when they go into an appointment or have dinner. It leads to large losses." In addition, he says, some salespeople are still not being careful enough to see if they are being followed. "Criminals sit outside jewelry stores and wait for traveling salespeople to leave after their appointment and then follow them. Salespeople should always be watching that they aren't being followed and take evasive steps to keep themselves safe."
In store, says Kennedy, one of the problems is that some still don't have safes adequate to the value of what they are trying to protect. Criminals, he says, have become better at being able to cut into safes, and can do this even without specialized tools, using only equipment that can be bought at any mall. In addition, he says many stores still don't have adequate alarms, adequate security or even adequate insurance to cover them in terms of loss.
Jewelers are also responsible for the “grab and run” robberies that take place within their stores. “Often, they show excessive amounts of goods instead of showing only one or two pieces at a time and keeping it under their control.” An excess amount of goods can also be blamed for “smash and grab” robberies that take place when jewelry shops are closed. In addition, Kennedy cautions that jewelers need to be more aware when it comes to credit card and financial scams. “Large orders are often placed over the phone and jewelers are not taking the proper steps to confirm the validly of the credit card order. They are shipping goods on bad credit cards.” Lest jewelers think that those who commit these sorts of crime get off lightly, Kennedy says that the punishments, especially for those who use guns in their crime, are extremely harsh and getting increasingly lengthy. It is not unusual for sentencing to be upwards of 15 to 20 years with sentences of even 30 years being handed out.
It may be the busy pre-holiday season, but jewelers looking to reduce their chances of crime might want to consider taking a vacation in October. According To JSA statistics, October was the most crime-ridden month of 2007 with 13.5 percent of total robbery events Taking place. Like 2006, Tuesdays saw the most crime activity Taking place, with the greatest number of crimes Taking place between 4pm and 4.59 pm.