What JSA’s Annual Report Tells Us About Jewelry Crime in 2021
Plus, JSA President John Kennedy talks about the trajectory of industry crime over the last 20 years.

Released earlier this week, the report tracks crimes via specific case information reported to or obtained by JSA but excludes crimes the organization is unable to obtain a statistically valid sample for, such as internal theft, cyber-crime, and credit card fraud.
In 2021, the total number of crimes committed against U.S. jewelry firms was 1,687, down less than 2 percent from 1,718 in 2020.
Total dollar losses reached $70.1 million, also a decline from 2020, when dollar losses totaled $83.2 million.
However, 2020 was an anomaly for jewelry crime, with stores closed for months at a time followed by widespread civil unrest that caused the number of burglaries to spike that summer while not significantly impacting dollar losses.
In an interview Wednesday, JSA President John Kennedy said comparing 2021 to 2019, pre-pandemic, paints a more accurate picture of the current trajectory of jewelry crime.
In 2021, there were more crimes than in 2019—1,687 vs. 1,438—but fewer dollar losses. Dollar losses decreased by 31 percent from $101 million in 2019 to $70.1 million in 2021.
Dollar losses were unusually high in 2019 due to a surge in the number of professional gangs cutting power to jewelry stores and then cleaning out the safes.
In 2021, there were more crimes, but they were the types of incidences where dollars losses tend to be less significant.
Grab-and-run thefts, for example, spiked last year, totaling 842, up from 616 in 2019 and 581 in 2020.
The average loss from a grab-and-run in 2021 was $7,953 compared with $693,000 for a safe attack, which numbered only 17 in 2021, JSA’s report states.
Kennedy said the increase in grab-and-runs is due to the fact that people could, in many circumstances, conceal their faces with masks with few questions in 2021.
It’s also a relatively easy crime to commit, appealing to people left in dire straits following the pandemic, he said.
Only one member of the jewelry industry was killed while on the job in 2021, down from three in 2020 (two jewelers and one store guard) and three in 2019 (one customer and two bystanders).
Jamie Browning Iverson, 67, was shot and killed during an April 2021 armed robbery at the store she owned and operated with her husband in Indianola, Mississippi.
Two brothers were arrested in her murder.
JSA’s 2021 crime report also shows the continuation of a trend that’s held for two decades—overall, the number of crimes perpetrated against members of the jewelry industry and the associated dollar losses continue to drop.
The report notes that over the last 20 years (2002-2022), dollar losses from U.S. jewelry crimes have totaled $2.2 billion, with the biggest years for losses largely contained to the early aughts.
In 2002, losses totaled almost $190 million and peaked the following year at $195.5 million. This year’s dollar loss total, $70 million, is less than half that. (Historical losses are stated in inflation-adjusted dollars.)
“A big driver of that, a huge driver of that, is the off-premises losses,” Kennedy said.
“When I started here [in 1992], you would get one [off-premises incident] a day,” he said, noting that dollar losses from off-premises incidences, which include attacks against traveling salespeople and retailers at home as well as thefts at trade shows, used to total as much as all other crimes combined.
In 2021, there were only 34 incidences of off-premises crimes totaling $13.1 million in losses, down from $16.1 million in 2020 and $14.5 million in 2019.
Of the 34 off-premises crimes, 25 were robberies and nine were thefts. Seven of the nine thefts involved jewelry being stolen from unattended vehicles, a loss that is not generally covered by insurance, JSA noted.
The change in the way jewelry is distributed and sold over the years is the main driver behind the drop in off-premises crimes.
Companies of all sizes used to have multiple traveling salespeople on the road at all times. Now, there are only a handful of companies with employees going from store to store, and a lot of them aren’t even carrying product, Kennedy said.
The increase is due to in part to the lifting of travel restrictions, which has allowed international gangs to return.
“The opportunity now presents itself, so now they are here,” he said. “Just like there is pent-up demand to buy jewelry, there is pent-up demand to steal jewelry.”
To read JSA’s 2021 Annual Crime Report in its entirety, visit JewelersSecurity.org.
The Latest

The company is focused on modernizing the custom jewelry buying experience with e-commerce tools like product visualization and 3D styling.

Following its recent acquisition, the storied brand has updated its leadership team and regional managers.

AGS also named the recipient of its “Women in Leadership” scholarship.

The Seymour & Evelyn Holtzman Bench Scholarship from Jewelers of America returns for a second year.

The 20-karat yellow gold and diamond wrap ring is modeled after the Monstera plants in the garden of the brand’s Miami villa.


Rocksbox President Allison Vigil shared the retailer’s expansion plans, and her thoughts on opening stores in malls.

The creator of the WJA Chicago chapter is remembered as a champion for women in the jewelry industry and a loving grandmother.

The countdown is on for the JCK Las Vegas Show and JA is pulling out all the stops.

The decline was consistent across age groups and almost all income groups, with tariffs and inflation still top of mind.

The “Playlist: Electric Dreams” collection brings lyrics from the musician’s song, “Little Wing,” to life through fine jewelry.

The event is set for May 16-19 in Detroit, Michigan.

The Vault’s Katherine Jetter is accusing the retailer of using info she shared for a potential partnership to move into Nantucket.

The designer brought her children’s book, “The Big Splash Circus,” to life through a collection of playful fine jewelry characters.

The trade association has chosen the recipients of the funding initiative it formed to foster the growth and sustainability of the industry.

The organization has also announced this year’s slate of judges.

Associate Editor Natalie Francisco shares 20 additional pieces that stood out to her at the Couture show.

Lori Tucker started at Williams Jewelers when she was 18 years old.

The “Marvel | Citizen Zenshin” watch is crafted in Super Titanium and has subtle nods to all four “Fantastic Four” superheroes on the dial.

The “XO Tacori” collection was designed to blend luxury and accessible pricing.

Pritesh Patel, the lab’s chief operating officer, will take over as president and CEO of GIA.

National Jeweler and Jewelers of America discuss the standout jewelry trends and biggest news to emerge from the shows this year.

Signatories to the “Luanda Accord” committed to allocating 1 percent of annual diamond revenue to the Natural Diamond Council.

The winning designs captured the “Radiance” theme.

Nominations in the categories of Jewelry Design, Media Excellence, and Retail Innovation will be accepted through July 30.

The singer’s ring ticks off many bridal trends, with a thick band, half-bezel setting, and solitaire diamond.

The bracelet references vintage high jewelry and snake symbolism as a playful piece where a python’s head becomes a working belt buckle.

The 10-carat fancy purple-pink diamond with potential links to Marie Antoinette headlined the white-glove jewelry auction this week.