Read more from Joe Courtesis about the latest crime trends, tangible results, and how data-driven strategies are creating safer communities.

By Joseph Courtesis, Sr VP of Law Enforcement

 A Year in Review

At our core, 3SI exists to make communities safer, and this year, we delivered measurable results in the fight against crime. By leveraging our DirectToDispatch™ (DTD) —delivering real-time, verified crime intelligence directly to law enforcement dispatchers—we have been able to combat rising criminal activity more effectively than ever before.

Tangible Impact

In 2024, we assisted law enforcement with over 1,200 criminal events, helping to protect not just commercial businesses but also the local communities and ensuring the safety of our law enforcement partners.

 

These efforts led to the safe return of over $2.6M in assets and netted over 920 criminal arrests. In addition, I believe it is safe to say we helped stop potential future offenses by closing out numerous pattern crimes and removing repeat offenders from our streets.

Insights and Trends

Here’s a closer look at the crime trends we observed in 2024:

  • Severe Crimes Higher than Petty Theft: Data shows that Felony Theft (38%) and Robbery (37%) dominate the crime landscape. These statistics highlight the severe, high-stakes offenses occurring at retail locations across the country. These disturbing stats point to criminals engaging in riskier, more confrontational crimes, escalating the threat level faced by employees and customers and calling for more robust, data-driven prevention strategies and stronger deterrents.

  • High-Risk Locations in 2024 – Over half of all reported incidents occur in traditional store settings, which are the primary stage for retail crime. Convenience stores, financial institutions, and pharmacies follow closely behind, while electronics retailers, cannabis operations, and courier services round out the list. This underscores the importance of location-specific security measures to safeguard people, property, and inventory.

  • High-Risk Day of the Week – Our analysis reveals that though crime consistently happens every day of the week, there is a slight uptick on weekdays with Thursday showing the highest rates of criminal activity. Crime tends to be lower on Mondays and Sundays, so those days can be a good opportunity for retailers to focus on other things, knowing it’s generally a safer window.

  • High-Risk Hours of the Day –Crime doesn’t always stick to regular business hours, and the evenings are when things tend to get dicey—especially around 9:00 PM. You’ll also see a rise in thefts in the late afternoon to early evening. Surprisingly, early mornings can be risky too, with a spike in commercial burglaries. Knowing when these things happen can help retailers focus their resources—like better surveillance, training, and tech—during critical hours, which can really help prevent crime and minimize losses.

  • Where crime happens: CA (36.45%), TX (17.53%), NY (8.65%), MD (8.30%), IL (7.61%), WA (6.11%), FL (4.50%), CO (3.80%), OR (3.58%), TN (3.46%)

  • How Theft Differs Across the U.S. – The level of theft varies greatly depending on where you are, and a higher crime concentration can often attributed to dense metropolitan areas. In California, almost half of the attributed crime happened in Los Angeles. And in Texas, over 70% of the crime events take place in Houston. The pattern repeats for other states, with the metropolitan area being responsible for a higher percentage of crime in the state. States like New York, Maryland, and Illinois face steady but moderate levels of theft. Even in areas with slightly lower theft rates, such as Oregon and Tennessee, it’s important to remain proactive—lower numbers don’t mean the risk is gone, and complacency could lead to an increase over time.

This data demonstrates the scale of our challenges and the critical role 3Si plays in addressing them. The best successes happen when businesses can collaborate with local law enforcement and invest in effective security measures to address these challenges.

Looking Ahead

As we look ahead, we are excited to introduce new tools and enhancements that will improve officer safety, apprehend more criminals, and support safer communities for all. Through continued advancements in our DirectToDispatch (DTD) platform—and a steadfast commitment to data-driven strategies—we will deepen our impact on crime prevention. Together, we can look forward to a safer 2025 and beyond.

A new era of security starts now

  • 100+ Years of combined experience
  • 10,300+ DirectToDispatch connections with law enforcement
  • 20,000+ Criminals Arrested
  • 11,150+ Crimes Prevented Last Year

OUR SOLUTIONS

CAMERA & VIDEO HARDWARE

We offer a comprehensive range of solutions tailored to meet the specific needs of any environment, ensuring reliable video capture and collection. Our expertise in custom design and rapid prototyping enables swift and effective deployments. Our white glove services provide expert support for location design and seamless implementation, ideal for large-scale deployments.

GPS TRACKING

We provide custom covert GPS tracking devices that seamlessly integrate into business operations and public sector deployments without disruption. Our advanced location and wireless technologies deliver precise tracking intelligence for real-time and investigative responses. Easy to use and low-maintenance, these devices offer flexible triggering options and secure data collection, aiding in the apprehension and conviction of bad actors. Supported by a 24/7/365 tracking center, we offer direct response and are connected to dispatch at over 10,200 law enforcement agencies.

VIDEO MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

Surveill VMS delivers unmatched performance, scalability, and reliability for enterprise demands. Its modern, containerized architecture with Docker and microservices ensures low latency, minimal overhead, and rapid, edge-optimized deployments. Cloud-ready and horizontally scalable, it adapts to change with an open API and robust plugins for quick integrations. As your single pane of glass, Surveill VMS offers powerful 2D and 3D visualizations, intuitive command and control, and reliable global update management and health monitoring.