Retail Industry Presses Congress to Pass Bills to Fight Organized Retail Crime | Security Management

This article details the state of the Organized Retail Crime Act of 2009. We are at a crisis in our economic lives. Many tens of thousands of people have no place else to sell their wares, personal stuff, than on ebay, flee markets and swapmeets, Craigslist, and the likes. These avenues of trade have always been a popluar place of commerce in hard times. These acts by congress do no more to protect consumers and retailers than to eliminate their competition in the form of legislation that basically makes the outlet a suspected venue of organized criminal activity. So now you are a suspect if you go to ebay, flee-markets or swap-meets to sell in a tough environment.

Often these criminal gangs conduct countersurveillance, noting security sweeps and camera technology, before they hit a retailer. Once inside the store, the gangs use cellphones and hand signals to steal thousands of dollars worth of goods in minutes, LaRocca said.

A recent survey conducted by the NRF found that 9 out of ten retailers surveyed reported their companies were victims of ORC in the past year. That was up 8 percent from the prior year.

But ORC doesn’t only hurt retailers. State and local governments suffer from the loss of much needed sales and income tax revenue already depleted by a hurting economy. The practice also jeopardizes the health of American consumers. Many criminal gangs steal consumer goods— like baby formula and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals—that can expire or go bad, with the potential to harm or to kill a person when consumed.

Local and state law enforcement agencies have struggled to catch the criminal gangs as ORC has exploded over the past few years. According to Special Agent Danny Banks of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, police efforts to combat retail crime were traditionally focused at the local level. But over the past five years, Banks said, police across the country have seen retail crime become well-organized, national, and very profitable

Tomorrow, the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security of the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on federal law enforcement's role in fighting ORC..

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