Jewellery Industry Serious Crime Council

Serious Crime Council Meeting – Important information
In early August, representatives from the Jewellers Association of Australia (JAA) were invited to attend a security meeting held at the NSW Police Headquarters in Sydney’s western suburbs.

Held by the NSW Robbery & Serious Crime Squad Command, the meeting was convened to facilitate the exchange of information between stakeholders in key industries affected by robbery and violent crime. Representatives from the major supermarkets chains, liquor retailers, RSL’s, petrol station and convenience stores, convert cash in transit providers, fast food were in attendance.

The Serious Crime Squad representatives provided valuable statistic and insights into serious criminal activity taking place in NSW which we wish to share with our members.

Over the last financial year:

  1. Robberies were up 4% to a total of 102 incidents, considered stable
  2. Commercial break and enters were down 6%
  3. The South West metropolitan area saw the biggest increase in robberies up 21% from the last financial year, where as Central Metro saw a 10% decrease
  4. In 2017 there were 2 reported robberies of jewellery stores in NSW and 4 reported in 2018
  5. Service stations and shopping complexes were the highest target at 34%
  6. Legal action rate of robberies and serious crimes since January 2018 is 38%

Weapon are used in 39% of robberies, in order of use, they include:

  1. Sharp instruments (knife/machete)
  2. Firearm
  3. Blunt instrument
  4. Glass or bottles
  5. Other

Handling the media:

The Police Media Unit is the designated section within NSW Police that handles the dissemination of information such as CCTV footage, photos of suspects and stolen items. The release of footage is often done at the discretion of the detectives in charge of the investigation but often face hindrances from the media who broadcast images or footage without knowing the consequences of such actions. The best thing for store owners and employees can do is hold off on talking to the media until they have been intervierwd by detectives and to retain CCTV footage for the purpose of investigation before giving it to the media.

The incidence of commercial break and enters has decreased dramatically over the last 10 years most likely due to gang busts and target hardening efforts (security systems, reinforced shopfronts). The Serious Crime Squad identified the quality of CCTV systems in jewellery stores as the biggest factor in solving robberies of jewellery stores citing digital systems to be the most reliable.

If you have any questions or feedback for the NSW Serious Crime Command, please reply to this email and we will send it to our newly established contact within the command. The Command praised the efforts of the JAA branch in Victoria in assisting police with their investigations into the spate of armed robberies in Melbourne and surrounding areas. The JAA hopes to continue establishing close relationships with police in all State and Territories to assist in keeping industry members safe.

Helpful Links

https://www.secure.nsw.gov.au/

https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx