Posted: January 31st, 2023

hello I need help with the attached article, the question is on the bottom on response

hello I need help with the attached article, the question is on the bottom on response

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Diamond and Jewelry Industry Crime
By KELLY ROSS
The criminal world is changing. Technology, international commerce, and globalization have allowed lawless
individuals to broaden the scope of their activities and the sophistication of their operations. Unfettered by
internal policy or bureaucracy, they can morph from one criminal enterprise into another faster than law
enforcement can keep pace. The activities normally associated with criminals have expanded beyond
national borders and—adding to the usual drugs, weapons, contraband, and sex trade—have become
modalities to serve the criminal finances generated. In this respect, diamonds and similar commodities, such
as gemstones, jewelry, and gold, regularly appear as facilities to gather, store, and move proceeds of crime
undetected by authorities. Street-level illegal activity in diamonds and jewelry has increased, and the criminal
and terrorist use of diamonds and gemstones has become the subject of many books and intelligence
reports.
This growing problem presents new challenges to all law enforcement agencies. Understanding the criminal
use of diamonds and jewelry, recognizing the issues facing law enforcement, and seeking proactive
countermeasures represent the first steps to finding a solution.
Constable Ross coordinates the Diamond Program, Customs and Excise Unit,
Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Understanding the Criminal Use of Diamonds and
Jewelry
No doubt, the relative high values, ease of concealment, and untraceable attributes of diamonds, gemstones,
and jewelry prove quite appealing to criminals. Street-level perpetrators involved in residential and retail
jewelry store burglaries and robberies favor these items. Moreover, increasing evidence points to the
gravitation of the more sophisticated offender, organized crime member, and terrorist toward the use of
diamonds, gemstones, and jewelry for criminal financing or as a facility for money laundering, international
movement, or storage of crime proceeds.
1
The tracking of currency nationally and internationally through
government agencies corrals criminals into the use of alternate currencies, such as diamonds, gemstones,
and gold. Law enforcement authorities have identified gemstone and jewelry smuggling operations run by
organized crime, and jewelry store thefts linked to organized crime are not uncommon.
2
Further evidence has
shown a strong link between street-level criminal activity regarding diamonds and jewelry and organized

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crime.
Statistics reflect this criminal use of jewelry and precious metals. From 1999 to 2003, jewelry was among the
fastest growing categories of stolen property in the United States and now ranks second only to automobiles
by value.
3
This is not surprising as the United States, with approximately 5 percent of the world’s population,
consumes 48 percent of the annual world production of diamond jewelry, totaling approximately 30 billion
U.S. dollars.
4
Similar per capita spending on diamond jewelry could be expected in Canada. Within this North
American “diamond culture,” an enormous number of jewelry outlets, manufacturers, and suppliers exist to
quench the thirst for diamond jewelry. This results in a greater opportunity for criminals to acquire such items
and corresponding occasions to insert them back into the legitimate jewelry market. In terms of criminal
exploitation of diamonds and jewelry, no other continent has such favorable conditions for product acquisition
and for converting the proceeds of crime.
Recognizing the Issues Facing Law Enforcement
Identifying the stolen products, something the police and the public both have difficulties with, contributes to
the problem. Another limiting factor involves the lack of knowledge and awareness of diamonds, gemstones,
and the jewelry industry at all levels. This translates into a poor understanding of the criminal activity that
surrounds these products, specifically the “what, why, and how” of the criminal use of diamonds and jewelry.
Many officers who have purchased diamond jewelry would have difficulty describing it in any detail more than
its approximate carat weight. They probably could not relate the characteristics that determine a diamond’s
value: the four C’s of carat, color, clarity, and cut. This would be similar to investigating the theft of a $7,000
motorcycle without a description of its make, color, engine size, or accessories. Lacking accurate identifiable
characteristics of the vehicle, officers would have little chance of recovering it. Diamonds and jewelry, even
under the best circumstances, are extremely difficult to track and rank among the lowest of police recovery
rates.
5
Additionally, the dearth of diamond-specific laws does not help matters. In Canada, diamonds, gemstones,
and jewelry are indirectly controlled by several acts of parliament. The most common of these include the
Criminal Code, the Customs Act, the Competition Act, the Export and Import of Rough Diamonds Act, and the
Cultural Property Export and Import Act. The only one of these laws specific to diamonds is the Export and
Import of Rough Diamonds Act (EIRDA). The remainder control diamonds and gemstones indirectly in the
same way they do other material items. For instance, the Criminal Code contains several sections, such as
theft, robbery, and fraud, that could be used relative to criminal activity that surrounds diamonds and
gemstones. EIRDA controls the export and import of rough diamonds from and to Canada in compliance with
the international Kimberley Process protocols.
6
Several other countries, including the United States, have
joined this endeavor and also have enacted their own similar legislation. The spirit of EIRDA is genuine in its
efforts to control international sales of conflict diamonds; however, at present, the basic training and
awareness of law enforcement may not be sufficient, nationally or globally, to meet the demands of this
worldwide initiative. Further, those criminals who have operated in an unscrupulous manner prior to the 2001
launch of the Kimberley Process would have no reason to change their modus operandi. If they have
successfully moved rough diamonds surreptitiously without detection prior to the Kimberley Process initiative,
they probably will continue.
Finally, the emergence of the diamond production industry in Canada and the corresponding new
opportunities for criminals have become the harbinger of new policing challenges. At present, the annual
production of rough diamonds from Canada is valued at 1.24 billion U.S. dollars.
7
Yet, even a small
percentage of mine-site loss due to criminal activity could translate into large dollar values. If Canadian
mines experienced the estimated 12 percent losses per year that occur in South African diamond mining
operations, the results would amount to a 180-million Canadian dollar loss to the industry and a 25-million
Canadian dollar loss of government royalties.
8
Canadian diamond production, estimated as the world’s third
largest by value, is expected to expand at the production level and at several of the intervening steps from
the mine to market.
9
Slowly but surely, the Canadian diamond industry will become more stratified, with new
cutting and sorting facilities and distribution networks that will afford both new and, perhaps, the greatest
opportunities for organized criminal exploitation.
10

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