The Jewelers’ Security Alliance (JSA) released its 2024 annual crime report, showing both positive and negative trends for the jewelry industry. This marks a change from recent years when the news was mostly bad.
On the positive side, crimes against jewelry businesses in the U.S. dropped by 12.4% compared to 2023. JSA recorded 1,420 crimes last year. This number is also 34% lower than in 2022, which saw a record high in reported jewelry crimes.
Crimes occurring outside business premises fell sharply in 2024. These incidents dropped by 53%, from 100 in 2023 to just 47 last year.
However, there were increases in certain types of crime, including burglaries, grab-and-run thefts, and transnational distraction thefts. JSA’s executive vice president, Scott Guginsky, shared this information with JCK.
Tragically, four industry members were killed during crimes in 2024. This is the highest number of deaths in a single year since 2017, when five people were killed.
Guginsky noted that the murders in 2024 were very unusual and tragic. In two cases, the alleged attackers were customers of the victims.
So far, no murders have been reported in 2025. The only year without any deaths in jewelry-related crimes was 2019.
Despite the overall drop in crime numbers, the total value of losses grew by 7% compared to 2023. The industry lost $142.5 million in 2024 due to these crimes.
Guginsky explained that burglars are becoming more sophisticated. They are targeting well-established, high-end businesses, causing large financial damage. “They are hitting the elite of the elite in the industry,” he said.
Gang-related crimes have also become more complex. In 2023, only one burglary involved criminals disguising themselves as construction workers. In 2024, JSA recorded 20 such cases.
Criminals are using advanced technology to plan and carry out their crimes. Guginsky described how they use mobile hunting cameras to surveil stores remotely before stealing. During the crimes, they use WiFi jammers to block alarm signals and use torches and angle grinders to break into safes. These methods cause serious losses for jewelers and can raise insurance costs.
Other key points from the 2024 JSA report include:
- January was the busiest month for robberies, while April saw the fewest.
- Most robberies occurred between 5 and 6 p.m. The second most common time was between noon and 1 p.m.
- Robberies happened most often on Thursdays, followed by Saturdays. Tuesdays were the least common day for robberies.
- In 2024, 16.9% of robberies involved violence, down from 24.3% in 2023.
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