Organized retail crime is an issue that continues to plague retailers — and offenders are only getting more sophisticated.
“The problem is becoming bigger and bigger, and that has made it hard for local prosecutors to address,” says Representative Glenn Ivey, D-Md.
Ivey and Angela Hofmann, head of government relations for JCPenney, join Retail Gets Real to talk about what organized retail crime means, what it's like to collaborate with law enforcement, prosecutors and the retail industry, and how the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act is working to counteract this insidious trend.
While many have seen imagery of the “smash-and-grab” scenarios where organized groups come into clear out a store, organized retail crime operates on a much larger and more coordinated level.
As the State’s Attorney in Prince George County, Virginia, Ivey witnessed groups traveling up and down the Eastern seaboard to steal goods from one area and fence or sell them in another. Ivey describes ORC as a growing problem that makes it hard for local prosecutors to address because they frequently aren’t aware if someone arrested for one instance has been involved in other thefts up in a different region.
Through her work at JCPenney, Hofmann has also seen the effects of ORC firsthand. It has been one of the top issues since she started with the brand.
“We've been coordinating across the country because these cases are sophisticated — and I'm going to use that word, ‘sophisticated,’” Hofmann says. “They know exactly the jurisdictions to hop between. They know the gaps in law enforcement, and often they're working regionally.”
Fighting back against organized groups requires its own organization. That’s why law enforcement, prosecutors and retailers are coming together to enact change.
“There's power in collaboration to understand the trends and the categories that they're going after and the means and methods that they're working together to execute these crimes,” Hofmann says. “So I think we're just seeing more visibility to it.”
Part of those efforts to increase collaboration and awareness is the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (S. 140/H.R. 895), a bill that Ivey co-sponsored.
“The benefit is the coordination,” Ivey says. “A lot of times you'll have these criminal acts going on in different jurisdictions and sometimes there are challenges in making sure that law enforcement in one area understands what's going on in other places as well.”
Ivey also believes the bill helps with prosecutions. “If you can show that it's an ongoing criminal enterprise and that tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been lost due to these particular groups and their activities, I think it makes for stronger cases,” he says. “I think it leads to judges being more serious about them, especially when you get to a sentencing phase.”
Hofmann is already noticing the bill’s impact. “We're already seeing where we're able to aggregate, bring together teams,” she says. “We are getting prosecutions on the book.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more of Ivey and Hofmann’s take on ORC and what it means for the retail industry.
(00:01:25) What is organized retail crime?
How Congressman Ivey defines ORC
How ORC has grown
How ORC impacts JCPenney
(00:06:02) The evolution of organized retail crime
How ORC offenders have become more sophisticated
Growing partnerships between law enforcement and retail brands
(00:09:30) Introducing the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act
What the bill does
Why Congressman Ivey signed on as a co-sponsor
Why CORCA is important for the retail industry
(00:12:46) Social media awareness of ORC
The pros and cons of people posting about theft on social media
Locking up products and the impact on customers’ shopping experience
Get ready for Retail’s Big Show in NYC
Become an NRF member and join the world’s largest retail trade association
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