The Georgia Jewelers Association (GJA) has entered into a partnership with Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta announced Jan Fergerson, GJA President. This partnership will, among other things, offer rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of persons committing crimes against the jewelry community.
“For a number of years we have seen an escalation of crimes against the jewelry community both from the opportunistic criminal and organized groups,” said Fergerson. “Most recently and tragically one of our members, Mitch Mobley, in Villa Rica lost his life in one of these robberies. It is our hope that the creation of a reward program will encourage these criminals to think twice before committing a crime against a Georgia Jewelers Association member jeweler in the future.”
The Georgia Jewelers program with Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta engages the entire community – citizens, media and law enforcement – to work towards making communities safer by identifying the people committing crimes and getting them off the streets. When a jewelry crime is committed anywhere in the State of Georgia law enforcement officials will have the opportunity to request the posting of a reward to help solve the crime. In addition, the Georgia Jewelers Association will have the ability to increase the reward for member stores. The Association represents jewelry store owners from all areas of the state of Georgia as well as associate members from the jewelry manufacturing community.
“We are grateful to Stark Harbour of Jeweler Mutual Insurance who sparked this idea,” said Fergerson. “Our Board of Directors took the idea and developed it into a great partnership with Crime Stoppers.” She added. Since inception in 2007 Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta received 10,986 tips that resulted in 650 arrests and 830 cased cleared. So far in 2013 seventy-five fugitives, thirty-two weapons and $415,965 worth of illegal drugs have been seized as a result of Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta.
