Jewellers Vigilance Canada (JVC) notes that off-premise crimes have dropped drastically since a high in 2012, while incidences in theft have increased since 2014.
In 2012, 13 off-premise incidents took place, with $8,486,500 in losses. In 2015, however, there were only two incidents, resulting in a total of $200,184 in losses. The organization notes that this decrease is due to a downturn in the economy, causing fewer salespeople to be on the road, as well as a greater level of awareness of these crimes on the part of travelling salespeople.
One off-premise robbery involved a jeweller returning from a show back to her place of business. As she was unloading merchandise, a van pulled up beside her. Three men jumped out—one of whom was armed with a handgun—and took all of the merchandise, puncturing one of her tires before fleeing.
Meanwhile, thefts increased overall last year—70 incidents were reported to JVC in 2015 with losses totaling $875,452. This makes for an increase of 43 per cent over 2014 and an increase in dollars lost of 110 per cent.
For more information on industry-related crimes, read JVC’s 2015 end-of-year crime report here.
