Working Together to Prevent Crime

That's why I founded the Northern California Security Alert system.

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Working Together to Prevent Crime #1
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In 1995, we suffered a loss. I discovered afterwards that a nearby jeweler had received a memo from headquarters about the suspects. I realized that if this information had been shared, several jewelers in the region could have been spared.
That's why I founded the Northern California Security Alert system. What initially started as a network of 40 members of the Northern California Guild of the AGS is now over 120 participants from Santa Rosa to Carmel, with a few members in Colorado and Southern California. Members include retail jewelers, vendors, and police departments in several cities. It has become one of the more successful local alert systems in the country. I like to think of it as owned by all of the participants, since it is the information that comes from the list that makes it successful. I just play the role of facilitator.
SETTING UP YOUR OWN NETWORK
To set up a network of your own, my suggestion is to first decide that you will be the lead person. Put together a list of the e-mail addresses of jewelers and vendors in the region and send out a blast e-mail introducing yourself and what you are looking to accomplish. Make it as easy as possible for others. When you volunteer to be the facilitator, more people will be willing to participate.
You may be surprised as to how quickly your network will grow. Retailers will pass on the information to other retailers, who will then ask to be on the list. Vendors are a great source of new participants. Getting to know members of your local police department is always a good idea and they can also help in adding valuable new members to your list.
Have one person in charge of sending out the information, with a backup system for when the person is out. Build your e-mail list at industry events like GIA Alumni and AGS Guild meetings by announcing your service and asking people to e-mail you their contact information. Encourage participants to share the information with others. Create a "group" e-mail on your e-mail contacts so that you can easily manage who gets your alerts. Try to include as many city police departments as you can. Join the Jewelers Security Alliance and add them to your list. They are true professionals in dealing with crime and are more than happy to help.
If you hear of an incident, the Internet is a great source of information. Look up the local newspaper in the town and find the news article describing what took place. You can then cut and paste the article into an e-mail to send out. Attach a photo of the suspect, if available.
Don't give out names and addresses of suspects in blast e-mails. This is dangerous and can lead to a potential lawsuit. Don't list all the names of the participants in the "to" box of the e-mail. Send the e-mail to yourself and then list your recipients in the "bcc" or blind carbon copy.
One of my favorite success stories illustrates the power of sharing information. I was visited by a couple of male suspects that, by their actions, made me feel uncomfortable. They were looking at Rolex watches, asked a lot of questions, and made it a point to show me that they wore Rolex watches. As Rolex is a popular item for false purchases, I decided not to allow anything out of the store. They were with me for at least an hour, finally choosing an expensive model and bargaining like mad. They gave me a credit card that I recognized to be fake. When they asked me why I was calling the card in, I said that I had to call for any purchase of this amount. They then said that they wanted the card back and would get cash and come back later. Meanwhile, my assistant manager had been on the phone to the police, giving them descriptions. Shortly after they left, they were apprehended with several fake credit cards, including a "Plotinum Card."
I sent out a notice of this incident. Within a short time, I received information that these suspects had purchased watches from two other stores. I passed it along to the police. Since other cities were involved, the investigator requested help from the Secret Service, which handles financial fraud. After interviewing the managers of the other stores and examining the evidence, they decided it was a good case. The suspects plead out and, as they were foreign nationals, were deported. None of this would have happened had the other two stores not contacted me.
Sometimes the case does not have to do specifically with jewelers. An officer asked me to send out some information on the system, reporting the theft of some platinum crucibles from a local crystal grower. A pawnshop owner, who requested I add him to my list after hearing me talk at a GIA Alumni meeting, called the officer. He had just been offered a large amount of cut-up platinum to purchase and remembered the alert. A sting was set up and the suspect was arrested. The platinum was indeed from the stolen crucibles. It only takes one story like this to make all the work on a local network worthwhile.
author: Rick Velayo, rick@gleimjewelers.com
Gleim the Jeweler, Palo Alto, California




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