Thieves Execute Orderly Plans When Stealing From Jewelry Stores

Incidents of rooftop burglaries at jewelry stores has increased in the last couple of years. In 2012, there were 16 reported incidents of rooftop burglaries – a number that practically doubled in 2014 and 2015 (34 and 35 respectively), according to the Jewelers Security Alliance.

According to the City of Beverly, Massachusetts Police Department, crimes against jewelry stores costs more than $125 million annually.

There are five steps jewelry thieves use in rooftop burglaries, according to the latest edition of Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company’s electronic newsletter.

Step 1: Thieves will case both the exterior and interior of the targeted premises. They want to learn the store’s layout and in order to do so, may even pose as a customer. Obtaining this information is also key to their getaway plans.

Step 2: Thieves will trigger false alarms to watch store personnel response. They could even trigger alarms multiple times in the hopes store personnel will find them too routine to investigate.

Step 3: Thieves will cut an entrance in the roof to see if the alarm is triggered and what the response time is.

Step 4: Thieves may disable alarms and video surveillance systems so as not to be identified.

Step 5: Thieves work quickly, they want to collect the goods within three minutes at most.

Source: Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company