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Jewelers’ Security Alliance Releases 2021 Annual Crime Report

In 2021 the total dollar losses from crimes against U.S. jewelry firms reported by JSA was $70.1 million.

Published

1 year ago

July 8, 2022

INSTORE Staff

NEW YORK – JSA has released its 2021 Annual Crime Report which described how the number of crimes committed against the U.S. jewelry industry exceeded 2019, pre-Covid levels.

John Kennedy, president of JSA, commented, “This Report summarizes information on when, where and how crimes against jewelry firms occurred. Using the information in this Report can help jewelers to become better prepared for dangerous crime risks, and provide for their security needs and services in an effective manner.”

Kennedy urged all jewelry firm owners and their employees to spend time reading and discussing the Report, examining the serious risks that every jewelry business faces, and taking appropriate steps to reduce risk. He reminded jewelers that burglaries, robberies and thefts happen everywhere: small towns, big cities, malls, strip centers and free standing stores coast to coast, and that every jewelry business is at risk.

Notable results from the Report include the following:

The dollar losses from crimes against U.S. jewelry firms reported by JSA for the 20-year period 2002 to 2021 totaled $2.2 billion on an inflation adjusted basis.
In 2021 the total number of crimes committed against U.S. jewelry firms was 1,687, an increase of 17.3% from 2019, pre-Covid, when there were 1438 crimes reported by JSA.
In 2021 the total dollar losses from crimes against U.S. jewelry firms reported by JSA was $70.1 million, a decrease from $83.2 million in 2020. The 2021 losses were also a decrease of 30.6% from 2019, pre-Covid, when dollar losses totaled $101 million due to more frequent but less costly crimes.
Grab & Run thefts increased from 581 in 2020 to 842 in 2021, an increase of 44.9%.
There were 85 smash and grab robberies in 2021, of which 54 were in malls and 12 in strip centers.
The number of on-premises burglaries declined from 633 in 2020 to 311 in 2021, due to fewer incidents of looting and civil unrest. Of the 311 burglaries in 2021, 150 were in malls, including mall kiosks. The average loss from a safe attack increased from $287,000 in 2020 to $639,000 in 2021.

To see a copy of the full report, go to the JSA website at: JSA RELEASES 2021 ANNUAL CRIME REPORT (jewelerssecurity.org) For further information, contact John Kennedy, president of JSA, at 212-687-0328 or jsa2@jewelerssecurity.org.

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Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”