Three people with hammers and pepper spray rob Kitchener jewelry store

Waterloo regional police are investigating an armed robbery at a jewelry store in Fairview Park Mall.

Police were called to the Kitchener shopping centre around 8:20 p.m. Monday.

Police said three males came into the store armed with hammers and pepper spray, smashed display cases, stole merchandise and took off in a silver SUV. The suspects’ ages haven’t been released.

Police didn't say what store was targeted or how much jewelry was taken.

On Tuesday, police said they didn’t believe the pepper spray or hammers were used during the robbery but display cases had been smashed in another way that was not disclosed.

No injuries were reported.

“Our robbery team continues to investigate a number of armed robberies, including at jewelry stores in malls throughout the region,” Const. Melissa Quarrie with Waterloo Regional Police Service said. “We do encourage anyone, if they’re present during a commercial robbery, to stay as calm as possible. Don’t take any actions that could endanger your safety or the safety of others. As soon as possible, and when it’s safe to do so, please contact police.”

The investigation into the robbery is ongoing.

OTHER ROBBERIES

This was the most recent jewelry store robbery in recent months.

On Jan. 3, four masked people robbed Paris Jewellers in the Stratford Mall. Two people have now been charged in connection to the investigation.

Two other robberies also happened at Fairview Park Mall.

An unnamed jewelry store was targeted on Nov. 25. Police said two of the suspects had axes and a third had a gun.

Waterloo regional police are looking to identify the people in these images in connection to a jewelry store robbery at Farview Park Mall. (Source: Waterloo Regional Police Service)

On Oct. 31, multiple people hopped the counter at Lola Jewellers in Fairview Park Mall and grabbed merchandise.

TROUBLING TREND

James Blight, director for retail and commercial security with Paladin Security, has also seen a rise in jewelry store robberies.

“There’s evidence of the same type of activity occurring across the country,” he said. “The incidents can be as quick as two to three minutes, so it’s a very challenging incident to prevent.”

Unlike some other retail products, jewelry has a high resale value and a long shelf life, which may be one reason it’s a popular target.

“As long as it’s not retraceable jewelry. If it’s a very well known, specific piece of jewelry it’s harder to move, but if it’s a generic diamond ring or a gold bracelet or a silver chain, [they] can usually sell that stuff either to a pawn shop or some other fence of some kind at a really high dollar value. They can even melt some of it down,” he explained. “I don’t know what the people in these cases are doing with the items, but jewelry has a typically high retained value after it’s stolen.”

PREVENTING THEFTS

Blight said prevention is one solution to the problem.

He suggests companies should train their staff on what suspicious behaviour might look like and encourage employees to report that to security or management.

Many retailers also choose to hire external security guards, who are often trained in spotting suspicious behaviour and interacting with shoppers who may appear suspicious. They’re also trained to take concise mental notes if a robbery does occur.

Another key to prevention is having the proper equipment.

“A lot of jewelry stores think that their display cases have been protected with smash film. 3M creates a film that you can put on a case that can increase the time it takes to break to glass from zero seconds, to 45 seconds, or one minute,” Blight said. “Every second you can add to the time it takes someone to commit their crime, the more opportunity there is for them to be captured and the less desirable it is for them to continue their crime.”

If a robbery does happen, Blight said the best action for employees or security guards to take is no action.

“If the person is armed, none of us are really equipped to go toe-to-toe with them. We kind of just need to stay calm, observe details and be prepared to report those details to police,” Blight explained.