Skyrocketing Gold Prices Have Criminals Targeting South Asians Across North America

With the value of gold reaching record levels this year, criminals looking to cash in on the trend are burglarizing South Asian households across North America.

More than 26 families in Fairfax, Virginia were victimized in a crime spree that began in January. County police say the thieves were discerning. They took high quality gold jewelry, forgoing expensive silver pieces. Other high priced items, such as TVs and computers, were also largely ignored.

Raman Kumar was one of the first victims in Fairfax back in February. In less than an hour his home was ransacked, with more than $100,000 worth of jewelry stolen.

While the financial loss has been grave, Kumar says the emotional toll has been greater.

“We [my family] always feel someone is watching us,” he says.

Kumar’s wife lost most of her late mother’s jewelry in the robbery. Even though ten months have passed since the incident, he says he cannot broach the subject out of fear of upsetting her again.

Still, Kumar says South Asians’ characteristic tendency to keep high quality gold heirlooms in their homes makes them vulnerable to crime.

“They [criminals] know exactly who they are targeting … South Asians who have lots of gold jewelry,” he says.

South Asians gather for a town hall meeting in Centreville, Virginia to discuss the burglaries. Photo Courtesy of SABA

Community members decided to monitor the situation themselves by creating a blog, Facebook group and Twitter account. Through each tool, people were updated on the status of police investigations and were able to advise each other about suspicious activity.

They also started conducting their own investigations. A group of residents began collecting photos of crimes scenes and identifying similarities between cases. A pattern then emerged: the criminals tended to force their way into homes through doors or windows and headed straight to the main bedroom in search of jewelry.

This evidence was presented to the local police force, which had begun its own examination of the cases.

Police spokesperson Budd Walker says tips from residents were “important” in building a profile of the suspects and their pattern of behavior.

Then on November 12th, police announced they arrested three suspects in connection with the robberies in Fairfax.

“We feel excited and have a great sense of relief,” says Kumar.

Cities across North America are reporting similar crimes against South Asians.

Burglars looking specifically for gold jewelry have hit at least 93 households in Houston, Texas. Police in central Illinois reported that 37 families were burglarized there as well.

Such crimes have also appeared in Toronto, Canada. In June, police arrested 22 people in a sting operation called “Project Dish.” The majority of the victims lived in the Toronto area and three neighboring regions.

Toronto police say information from the community played an essential role in identifying the suspects.

However, two notable characteristics set the Toronto cases apart from others: the criminals were mostly of South Asian origin and the stolen items were sold in Indian jewelry stores.

The prevalence of such cases thus has less to do with the ethnicity of victims than with the high value of gold currently. It has been selling for more than $1,000 an ounce since last year, and the cost continues to steadily increase. According to a report by the Bank of America - Merrill Lynch, the value of gold is projected to maintain this upward trend well into the year 2010, making gold items an even more attractive target for criminals.

But there are simple ways for people in any community to keep themselves safe:

1) Establish a neighborhood watch program.
Fairfax police spokesperson Budd Walker says an active neighborhood watch program is “the single best deterrent” for criminals. While they can take different forms depending on the number of individuals involved, participants essentially monitor activity within local neighborhoods, reporting any suspicious behavior to police.

Police can also assist in setting up neighborhood watch programs. It is critical that community members remember they are not intended to be vigilante organizations.

2) Lock up valuables.
People looking to keep jewelry in their homes should store them in a secure location, such as a safe or a lockbox in a bank. Alarm systems may add another layer of protection but are insufficient on their own.

3) Keep an inventory of your belongings.
If a burglary does occur, it is important to have tangible proof of the items that have been stolen. Take photos of all valuables and keep track of how much you spent on them.

4) Create alliances with other victims.
Now that the Internet has become a widely accessible tool; it is also useful in disseminating information. Blogs and Facebook, for instance, are an easy way to keep a large volume of people updated on suspicious activity.

While the South Asian community in Fairfax may be a little more at ease with the recent arrests, Kumar says residents’ commitment “to being a helping voice and support system” for current and potential victims has not wavered.

Anyone concerned about similar crimes taking place in their communities are encouraged to get in contact with Kumar by using one of the following tools:

Blog site:
http://fairfaxdesis.posterous.com/

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/fairfaxdesis

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/fairfax.desis

Kumutha Ramanathan is a new media journalist with CTV, Canada's largest privately owned broadcast network. Prior to this position, she worked as an anchor and television reporter at CKX Television in Brandon, Manitoba.