2017 ANNUAL CRIME PREVENTION REPORT FOR THE CANADIAN JEWELLERY AND WATCH INDUSTRY

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1 2017 ANNUAL CRIME PREVENTION REPORT FOR THE CANADIAN JEWELLERY AND WATCH INDUSTRY Report prepared by Don Cardwell Director of Loss Prevention & John Lamont Senior Advisor and Crime Analyst Canadian Jewellers Association Jewellers Vigilance Canada 27 Queen Street East Suite 600 Toronto Ontario, M5C2M6 Telephone Published January

2 DIRECTOR OF LOSS PREVENTION SUMMARY The total dollar losses from crimes against the Canadian Jewellery and Watch Industry reported to JVC decreased from $6 million in 2016 to $4.7 million in 2017, a decrease of 22%. In 2017 the total number of incidents reported to JVC increased 7%. Of the total incidents reported to JVC, 48% of the incidents took place in enclosed malls, 20% in strip malls, followed by street locations, flea markets and warehouses. Robbery Taking of property by the use of force, or violence, or threats of violence. Break and enter Entering premises after closing with intent to commit a crime. Includes hiding in a jewellery location, taking product and breaking out after closing. Theft Taking of property without force or fear. Includes crimes such as cheque and credit card fraud, distraction crimes, diamond switches, sneak thefts and shipping losses that present evidence of criminal activity. Some significant trends or changes in 2017 were: 2 In 2017 the number of robbery incidents decreased from 36 in 2016 to 30 in 2017, a decrease of 17%. The dollar amount of losses decreased from 3.3 million in 2016 to 1.8 million in A decrease of 45%. Of the 30 robberies reported, 20 of them took place in Ontario. In 8 out of the 30 robberies a gun was used. In one situation the owner tried to resist and was shot in the hip. Of the 30 robberies in 2017, 2 were committed off premise and involved jewellery store owners that were closing for the night and were robbed in a back laneway of their personal jewellery. In 2017 the number of incidents of Break and Enters in Canada have increased 20% from 25 in 2016 to 30 in The dollar amount of losses decreased from $2 Mil in 2016 to $1.9 mil in A decrease of 5%. Ontario leads the way with 16 out of 30 break and enters, followed by British Columbia with 8. In 14 cases entry was gained by smashing the front door. In 5 cases a stolen vehicle was used to crash through the front of the store. In 4 cases a front window was smashed. In 4 cases a suspect cut through the roof and in one case a back door and in one case an adjoining walls. There were 84 incidents of theft reported in 2017, an increase from 74 in The dollar losses increased from $722,221 in 2016 to $944,848 in 2017 an increase of 31%. Two of the 84 incidents reported involved travelling salespeople who had left a trade

3 show and stopped at a restaurant. In one case the line was stolen from the car and in the other case the suspects took a suitcase which only contained the salespersons clothing. Of the 84 incidents 50 were grab and run incidents. Those 50 totalled $457,031 in losses. Police made 38 arrests in relation to crimes against the industry. There were many arrests of organized crime members who were suspected by police of involvement in some jewellery crime but there was insufficient evidence to charge them with the jewellery crime. They were charged with criminal acts against other non-jewellery or watch retailers. Police Sources have indicated that the South American Gangs have changed their tactics from committing robberies to residential and commercial break ins. The risk is less, and the rewards are the same. Immigration tends to be less engaged when violence isn t used in the commission of a crime. Organized Gangs of Romanians have stepped up the pace on distraction thefts. They have proven to be very skillful at distractions and police feel they have committed far more thefts than have been reported. Peel Regional Police have conducted a large project in which they have been able to identify a number of members of this organized gang and have developed a great deal of intelligence on this criminal element. FIVE YEAR LOSS CHART YEAR JAN $402, $599, $155, $587, $449, FEB $653, $907, $362, $1,088, $235, MARCH $257, $593, $157, $692, $845, APRIL $108, $368, $1,597, $124, $135, MAY $58, $341, $318, $49, $72, JUNE $24, $70, $595, $172, $516, JULY $319, $131, $431, $569, $294, AUG $668, $365, $173, $211, $117, SEPT $1,416, $126, $2,227, $1,268, $405, OCT $627, $770, $1,078, $427, $590, NOV $628, $1,149, $241, $112, $909, DEC $56, $300, $1,272, $743, $125, TOTALS $5,220, $5,724, $8,611, $6,046, $4,697,

4 PART ONE-- ALL 2017 LOSSES AND INCIDENTS Incidents Dollars Incidents Dollars Robbery 36 $3,302, $1,814, Break & Enter 25 $2,022, $1,938, Theft 74 $722, $944, $6,046, $4,697, The total dollar losses from crimes against the Canadian Jewellery and Watch Industry reported to JVC decreased from $6 million in 2016 to $4.7 million in 2017, a decrease of 22%. 4

5 INCIDENT PERCENTAGE BREAKDOWN The percentage for each category compared to the total incidents for the year. Category ROBBERY 28% 27% 21% BREAK AND ENTER 25% 18% 21% THEFT 47% 55% 58% HOMICIDES There were no homicides reported in Although during one robbery the jeweller tried to resist and was shot in the hip. He did survive. ROBBERY LOSSES IN 2017 = $1,814, There were 30 robberies reported to JVC in The robbery dollar losses decreased in 2017 to $1,814, from $3,302,263 in a decrease of 45% MOST ACTIVE PROVINCES FOR ROBBERIES PROVINCE Ontario British Columbia Alberta Quebec Manitoba Saskatchewan Nova Scotia New Brunswick Newfoundland Prince Edward Island

6 MOST ACTIVE MONTH FOR ROBBERIES: March MONTH January February March April May June July August September October November December MOST ACTIVE TIME OF DAY FOR ROBBERIES: 12pm to 5pm MOST ACTIVE TIME #INCIDENTS Opening to 12 noon 2 12pm to 5pm 20 5pm to closing 8 NUMBER OF SUSPECTS INVOLVED IN ROBBERIES # SUSPECTS # incidents Lone suspect 9 2 suspects 10 3 or more suspects 11 6

7 BREAK AND ENTER ( BURGLARY) LOSSES = $1,938, There were 30 Break and Enters in 2017 compared to 25 in Although the number of incidents increased the dollar value of the loss decreased from $2,022, in 2016 to $1,938, in A decrease of 4%. POINT OF ENTRY # incidents Window 4 Front Door 15 Stolen Vehicle driven into store 5 Back door attack 1 Adjacent wall 1 Roof top 4 THEFT LOSSES = $944, The theft numbers do not include robberies or break and enter's. They are reported in their own section. The theft dollars losses increased from $722, in 2016 to $944, in 2017 an increase of 31%. TYPE OF THEFT INCIDENT # incidents Dollars Grab and Runs 54 $490, Distraction 18 $327, Diamond switch 0 0 Travelling Salesperson 2 $50, Attempts 2 $0.00 Credit card Frauds Reported 8 $76, Totals 84 $944,

8 MOST ACTIVE MONTHS AND DAYS FOR THEFTS. THEFT INCIDENTS Month # incidents Day # incidents January 13 Monday 10 February 9 Tuesday 9 March 7 Wednesday 16 April 9 Thursday 16 May 5 Friday 13 June 4 Saturday 15 July 7 Sunday 5 August 6 September 3 October 6 November 7 December 8 PART TWO: OFF PREMISE CRIMES In this section we provide statistical data regarding criminal attacks occurring away from the victim's base of operations. For example, attacks against travelling salespersons, trunk and remount show operators, firms exhibiting at jewellery shows, retailers attacked away from their place of business, including at home and other industry members travelling with jewellery. In 2017 we had 6 Off Premise incidents reported to JVC compared to 2 in OFF PREMISE INCIDENTS Type of Loss From where # Incidents Dollar Arrests Travelling Salesperson Theft Unattended Vehicles 2 $50, Off Premise Robbery In Parking lot after leaving store 2 $4, Jewellers Home Invasion Private Home

9 JVC"s AWARENESS ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM JVC s awareness enhancement program was started in 2013 and it has two goals. One is to increase the awareness of members of the jewellery and watch industry in Canada of the crime against jewellers and the ways to protect themselves, and the second goal is to increase the awareness of Law Enforcement as to the impact of criminal activity on the jewellery and watch industry thereby giving greater focus to jewellery investigations. INDUSTRY Awareness Programs In 2017 JVC sent out 40 alerts These alerts were sent to CPP members advising them of criminal incidents committed against jewellers in Canada. These alerts greatly increased the awareness of the industry and in some cases were instrumental in the arrest of suspects. In 2017 JVC sent out 12 Recap Reports At the beginning of each month JVC sent to all CPP members a recap of all the incidents that were reported to JVC during the previous month. These recaps were sent out by and for members that did not have , a copy was mailed to them. In 2017 JVC wrote 6 Articles These articles were in relation to crime situations and recommendations on how to prevent or reduce losses from crime and were published in Canadian Jeweller Magazine throughout the year. Crime Prevention Website: In 2017 JVC updated the Crime Prevention webpage. It now includes images of major suspects on the home page. We created a stolen merchandise database where unique stolen merchandise is pictured. We have an archive of JVC Alerts. and we have produced a number of Guideline/ brochures such as: Robbery and Home Invasions. Three Minute Break and Enters. Travelling Salesperson Risks. Stop Theft. Emergency and Disaster Planning. Internal Theft. 9

10 These all will appear on the Webpage, under Guidelines as a PDF document that can be downloaded as well as in a Brochure format that can be handed out at Trade and Jewellery shows. We have a collection of crime prevention articles and videos as well as a section for Jewellery Statistics which is a copy of year end reports in English and French. We continue on the webpage, to update our "Police Only" database which is password protected for the use of police analysts. It contains reports going back to 2012 and has a very good search feature for police to quickly gather information on specific types of criminal activity in the jewellery industry. LAW ENFORCEMENT Awareness programs In the spring of 2017 JVC, with the assistance of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company arranged for a police officer from Montreal Police Pawn Squad to attend the JSA security seminar in Orlando Florida. The officer was able to network with members of the FBI and well as New York City Police. It also gave this Canadian Officer a greater understanding of jewellery crime south of our border. In May of 2017 JVC was a major sponsor of a robbery investigators seminar which was hosted by the York Regional Police. The three day seminar was attended by over 150 police investigators and private security personnel. JVC gave a presentation to the seminar members as to the JVC Crime Prevention Program and information on our "Police Only" database. At this seminar JVC presented the JMIC/JVC Police Appreciation Award to members of the Durham Regional and York Regional Officers involved in the arrests of an organized gang of jewellery store robbers. In April and again in May 2017, JVC with the assistance of Jewelers Mutual, sponsored two Law Enforcement seminars. One was held in Toronto and the second in Surrey British Columbia. The guest lecturer was Kelly Ross, a former RCMP officer who spoke for a day and half on the Criminal Use Of Diamonds. Each course was attended by 12 to 15 participants and critiques from the course were very good. 10

11 JVC Sources of Case Information JVC Membership (manufacturing, wholesale and retail doors) JVC Law Enforcement information sharing network Local Jewellers Crime Prevention Networks Non-member crime victims Media, Trade Publications, General Public, On-line Sources The statistics provided in this report are based solely on information obtained by JVC. Only information that in the opinion of JVC is credible, and can be verified in some way as to its accuracy, is used in the compilation of these statistics. The loss values reported should be considered conservative, and may be greater than indicated. It is not possible for JVC to obtain information on every jewellery/watch industry crime which occurs in Canada for several reasons, not limited to the fact that many go unreported, even to the police. The JVC database is the largest and most accurate in existence in Canada and growing has shown an improvement in information sharing but there are many jewellery business and law enforcement agencies that have not bought into the idea that networking and crime prevention is everyone s business. By not reporting losses we all become victims. Acknowledgements In 2017 JVC continued its focus on building strong partnerships not only with members of the industry but with law enforcement as well. Building a strong crime prevention team is key to reducing jewellery crime and preventing victimization of members of this industry. JVC would like to acknowledge John Kennedy, President of Jewelers Security Alliance (JSA) for his continuing support of JVC's Crime Prevention Program. It is with the help of JSA that JVC has been able to attend JSA's annual workshop in the US. John's willingness to share information has made a positive difference. One of the most important partnerships JVC has is with Jewellers Mutual Insurance Company (JMIC). Since 2004 JM has been a strong and constant supporter of the JVC s Crime Prevention Program. David Sexton, Vice President of Loss Prevention for JM, sits on the CJA Board of Directors. His guidance and vast knowledge of LP concerns in North America has been invaluable in building a strong program. JM joins JVC in presenting our Law Enforcement and civilian Award of Merit to deserving police and citizens of Canada. Thank you JM and David Sexton. JM, JSA and JVC have similar views on the extreme importance of developing law enforcement relationships and the importance and necessity of networking. Strong partnerships like this within the Canadian jewellery and watch industry and with law enforcement can only help to move the thin blue line the police are able to provide to protect us against crime to a more solid barrier to crime. 11