State attorneys general are retailers’ newest ally against organized crime

When Paul Halliday started spreading the word that the Maryland Office of the Attorney General was looking into organized retail crime cases, he suddenly found himself with “more business than we could ever dream to do.” 

Law enforcement simply didn’t have the capacity to handle such cases. It was time for something different. It would require building trust with retailers and regional asset protection specialists, Halliday said, and fostering understanding that cases might take longer, but would end with a better result. 

“And we successfully did it,” said Halliday, the office’s organized crime unit chief. The effort began with the state’s own version of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute. More recently, however, Maryland put a new organized retail theft statute into effect. In addition to helping with reporting, it removes certain requirements. “It allows us to aggregate thefts across multiple jurisdictions when it’s just part of a scheme or a continuing course of conduct,” he said. 

In Maryland and elsewhere, the involvement of the attorney general is a game-changer in the fight against organized retail crime. It helps connect scattered incidents into statewide, prosecutable patterns — especially when retailers can provide solid documentation and evidence. 

State-level partnerships 

Halliday spoke about the shift as part of a panel discussion at NRF PROTECT 2026. He was joined by Patrick Schulte, chief deputy attorney general with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, and Gerald Harrelson, special agent with the Arkansas Office of the Attorney General. Chris Nelson, senior vice president, head of asset protection at Gap Inc., provided the retail perspective, and David Johnston, vice president, asset protection and retail operations, National Retail Federation, moderated. 

Over the past few years, Johnston said, roughly 30 states have created or amended laws related to ORC activity. Federal legislation is important, but progress is coming from state-level partnerships, involvement of the attorney general, ORC task forces and direct collaboration with retailers. 

Pennsylvania passed new legislation in 2024. Mob-style thefts in stores — and the ensuing media coverage — brought the issue to the forefront, Schulte said. But those thefts are only part of it. “We’re seeing a lot of gift card fraud, cargo theft, employee-related theft that’s sort of encapsulated into a larger organization.” 

The legislation gave the attorney general’s office jurisdiction to jump into organized retail crime cases. It also created felony-level consequences for loss amounts over $50,000. “So now we have teeth behind this legislation,” Schulte said. 

There are “multidisciplinary team meetings” several times a year in the east, central and west regions of the state. The meetings include retailers, local police, state police and the attorney general’s office, and the retailers pitch their problem cases. “What we’ve identified early on is, if there’s no collaboration … this model does not work. So we are hyper-focused on maintaining those relationships,” he said. 

Cross-jurisdictional coordination 

Arkansas, meanwhile, is trying to get ahead of ORC before it reaches the scale seen in larger states. The state passed its own law in 2025, and the attorney general was instrumental in the process. Local law enforcement agencies might only be aware of the incidents that happen in their area, Harrelson said, but there’s now an opportunity to coordinate across jurisdictions. 

He’s still chipping away at educating prosecutors and courts. It’s challenging when the prosecutors are accustomed to filing under theft charges instead. 

“It has been an obstacle, but there are a lot of open-minded prosecutors that are willing to take that leap and try to get the case before the court, and to prove it in court,” he said. 

The attorney general’s office also hosts quarterly ORCA meetings, fostering deeper relationships with retailers. 

Community impact 

Involvement in these meetings and conversations has helped guide strategy, Gap’s Nelson said. Retailers must move beyond the idea of protecting the “four walls” of the business and into the community, taking a proactive stance. ORC is no longer just about shrink; it’s also about employee safety, customer experience and the condition of the community. 

“We’ve also learned you have to be proactive in the partnerships,” he said. “You can’t just call up on a Monday morning and say, ‘Hey Joe, this is Chris. You don’t know me from Adam, but I work for Gap and I need you to really make us your priority.’” 

He has found that his teams are ready, willing and able to “participate in all kinds of things, because we know that relationship-building is worth it.” 

The bottom line, Nelson said, is that “we have to tell the story about how this issue is facing or impacting the community that these guys are supposed to protect. They’re doing a hell of a job. But if we help them, they can do an even better job.” 

For retailers, the message was clear: Build the relationships before the next case demands it. And that includes joining forces with other retailers. 

“Please be involved,” Nelson urged his peers. “We’ll compete on the other stuff. But not on keeping people safe.”