The Jewelers’ Security ­Alliance reported in its preliminary crime report for the first half of 2011 that robberies involving jewelers are up 44 percent and burglaries are up 9 percent.

During the first six months of the year, there were 161 robberies involving losses of $19 million, up from 112 robbery cases with losses of $17 million in 2010. There were 139 burglary cases involving losses of $14 million, up from 128 burglaries with losses of $10 million in 2010.

However, off-premises crimes and thefts have fallen dramatically. JSA reports that in the first half of 2011, there were 369 thefts involving losses of $6 million, down 29 percent from the 517 cases during the same period in 2010.

“Overall, dollar losses from crime have continued their long trend downward in the U.S., and arrests have continued their trend up,” JSA president John Kennedy tells JCK.

According to JSA, there were 271 arrests made in crimes involving jewelers, up 8 percent from 2010. A total of $43.6 million in losses were reported, down 1 percent from the previous year. Two ­jewelers and two robbers were killed during the first half of the year.

“The most important figure in these statistics is that we have had the highest number of arrests in six years,” says Kennedy. “This is because of more effective law enforcement efforts and greater sharing of crime information among jewelers.”