Most Common Types of Crimes Against Jewelers

Smash, Grab and Run

Several people enter your jewelry store obscuring their appearance with their clothing. They pull out hammers and begin smashing the glass jewelry cases, grabbing all the items they can. They are in and out in less than a minute.

Smash, grab and run robberies occur during business hours when shoppers are in stores. Robberies rely on speed to commit the crime. An easy escape and valuables close to the door is what they look for.

What you should do.
Do not intervene. The safety of you, your staff and customers are the top priority. The goal is to have the threat leave your store as quickly as possible. Most smash, grab and run crimes are over in a matter of minutes.

What you should do.

• Be aware of people casing the store.
• Keep high-end merchandise out of showcases closest to the entrance.
• Spread high-end merchandise throughout showcases.
• Apply security film to, windows, doors and show windows and showcases.
• Hire a security guard during business hours, especially during busy selling seasons.
• Log all suspicious incidents.

Three-Minute Burglary

Burglars break through the front glass door and gain entry to your store. Once inside, they grab merchandise that was left out in the showroom in a matter of three minutes.

What you should do
Place all items in your safe if possible. If you do not have the capacity in a safe, put any lower value items out of sight in a locked interior room or drawer. Any pieces left in sight create an attractive opportunity for thieves, even if they are lower end pieces. Do not cover showcases – it signals there are valuables or jewelry underneath.

Tips to stay safe and limit loss:

• Install proper interior and exterior lighting to give visibility to your store. This makes any suspicious incidents more likely to be recognized. This denies the cover of darkness.
• Ensure surveillance systems with cameras are positioned to capture faces and are operating and recording non-stop with cloud storage back up.
• Use burglary-resistant glazing material on showcases and windows with extra protection around windows and doors, such as metal gating that complements the rest of the store exterior.
• Hire a security company to respond to all alarms.

Distracted Theft

A customer looks faint and doubles over in pain. The store associate who was helping her is understandably alarmed. A second associate rushes to help, leaving their customer standing at the display case. While the store associates’ attention is diverted to the apparent emergency, an accomplice quickly pockets one of the pieces they were being shown and quietly exits the store.

What you should do.
Make sure you have operating security cameras in your store to help catch incidents like this. Once you realize a theft occurred, you can review the footage and log additional details about the suspects that may not be evident from the security camera footage. Then, promptly reported the incident to police.

Tips to stay safe and limit loss:

• Ask for ID when showing high-end merchandise.
• Show one item at a time.
• Assist one customer at a time.
• Do not leave customers or merchandise unattended.
• Note suspicious incidents in a logbook and share with staff.
• Examine each piece of jewelry after showing it to a customer.
• Be sure surveillance system is working properly to capture clear images.