Latest news with #OrganizedRetailCrime
Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Home Depot, Target fight back on organized retail crime, theft
A lot of crimes, at least when it comes to retail theft, are crimes of opportunity or crimes of need. Maybe you forgot to scan an item, or maybe you intentionally missed it. It's hard to know and even harder to enforce at a self-checkout. Related: Dollar Tree raises red flag about unexpected customer behavior Sometimes the person stealing does it because it's easy and plausibly deniable, while in others, the person steals because they're hungry and broke. Shoplifting and petty checkout theft is a problem, but it's mostly a nuisance compared to organized retail crime. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter "Organized Retail Theft (ORT), also known as Organized Retail Crime (ORC), is the large-scale theft of retail merchandise with the intent to resell the stolen items for financial gain. ORT may involve a criminal enterprise that employs a group of individuals to steal large quantities of merchandise from multiple stores. These ORT groups maintain or utilize fencing operations to convert the stolen goods into cash," according to the FBI. Stolen items are then sold online, at flea markets, and other places where it's hard to track where the items came from. Image source: Shutterstock You would probably not expect a massive pushback effort to thwart ORT to come from a single group in Illinois, but that's what happened. The Cook County Regional Organized Crime Task Force coordinated a huge effort across 28 states that led to hundreds of arrests. The agency thanked its many partners on X, the former Twitter. "Thank you to all the agencies, ORCAs, and retailers who participated in the first-ever National ORC Blitz event. The event was a great success!," it shared. An ORCA is an organized retail crime association designed to tackle the problem. The crackdown involved 30 retailers - including Home Depot, Kroger, Macy's, Target, Ulta Beauty, and Walgreens - across 100 jurisdictions, according to CNBC. Joint efforts to crack down on ORC have been supported by the National Retail Federation (NRF). More Retail: Costco quietly plans to offer a convenient service for customersT-Mobile pulls the plug on generous offer, angering customersKellogg sounds alarm on unexpected shift in customer behavior "Organized retail crime and related thefts cannot be solved by the retail industry alone. Addressing this issue requires collaboration between retailers, law enforcement, prosecutors, community leaders, and legislators, with action needed at local, state, and national levels," it shared in a report on the NRF website. RetailWire asked its panel of industry experts whether they thought efforts like this would work. "Retailers have enough pressures and issues without having to deal with the cost of retail crime. Shoplifting and stealing from retailers should not be tolerated, and people should be prosecuted and punished. No ifs, no buts. Credit to State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke for spearheading and organizing this crackdown. It needs to be an ongoing effort to show that retail crime comes with consequences," wrote GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders. Social media poster James Tenser was very specific about the cause of the problem and how to lessen its impact. "It's unfortunate that self-service merchandising (which helps keep prices a little lower for honest customers) also creates a temptation for this kind of organized thievery. Retailers can't safely intervene, but they can use electronic surveillance to identify professional thieves and aid their apprehension and prosecution by the authorities," he posted. Organized retail theft is not garden-variety shoplifting, he explained. "The stakes are much higher, which makes the perpetrators more potentially dangerous. Since stolen goods are likely to find their way into online marketplaces or neighborhood flea markets, only a focused law-enforcement effort can find and trace items back to the offenders," he added. "While the term 'crackdown' seems a bit harsh, I'd like to think that 'certainty of prosecution' would be am effective deterrent. The key is consistent enforcement of existing laws." Related: Domino's and Pizza Hut rival makes 'first-in-decade' menu change Poster Christopher P. Ramey was not interested in exploring the possibility that some people steal because they need to in order to survive. "Thieves are thieves. There are no free passes. Retailers can't fix societal root causes, nor should they be expected to fix them. That's why we have laws and police to enforce them," he shared. Ramey supported the enforcement efforts. "A national crackdown that includes other law enforcement agencies is exactly what may be needed. Then we need to put the shoplifters away long enough so they learn their lesson. We owe the retailers an aggressive response, for they are the victims," he added. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
CBS News
03-04-2025
- CBS News
San Francisco police arrest suspected serial shoplifter under Prop. 36
Police in San Francisco announced Thursday the arrest of a suspected serial shoplifter, citing a measure recently approved by voters aimed at toughening penalties for retail theft. According to officers, Marcel Criner was initially arrested on Dec. 4, 2024 following a petty theft incident at a store on the 1300 block of Castro Street. Officers booked Criner into jail on suspicion of felony theft after he was suspected in four other thefts at the same location, saying he stole $1,294.73 of items in total. Two days later, a judge issued Criner a stay away order from the store and was released on his own recognizance. Later that month, Prop. 36 went into effect . The measure, which was approved by 68.4% of voters in the November election , enables prosecutors to charge petty theft incidents as either a misdemeanor or felony if a person has two or more prior theft convictions, police said. According to officers, Criner had what was described as "numerous" prior convictions for theft. Last month, investigators with the department's Defend Against Retail Theft (DART) Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Task Force began investigating Criner for five thefts at the same store after being issued a stay-away order. Investigators said they were also able to link Criner to three other thefts at the store in November. Police said the losses from the new incidents totaled nearly $3,000. Criner was arrested and booked into San Francisco County Jail on March 25. He has been charged with five felony counts of petty theft with a prior conviction, five counts of committing a felony while on release, five counts of violating a court order, three counts of petty theft and two counts of organized retail theft. "Our officers will continue to use every tool available to them, including new statutes from Prop 36 passed by voters, to hold suspects accountable. I'd like to thank the investigators who worked tirelessly on these cases and continue to curb organized retail theft in our city," Chief Bill Scott said in a statement . Jail records show Criner remained in custody Thursday on $25,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 10. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact police at 415-575-4444 or to text TIP411, beginning the message with SFPD.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Yahoo
Organized Retail Crime Bill is headed to Gov. McMaster's desk
Columbia, S.C. (WSPA) – The Organized Retail Crime bill has passed in South Carolina, and it's headed to Governor Henry McMaster's desk. The Organized Retail Crime Bill was unanimously passed in the House and the Senate, and retailers say its passing will save their businesses and protect their customers. 'This is not just about protecting retailers, which we absolutely want to do and protect small businesses as well. This is about protecting people in their communities from having to pay even higher prices,' said South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. The bill defines organized retail crime as two or more people conspiring to steal property to sell or exchange it for profit. Anyone convicted under the law can be punished up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. The bill also stipulates anyone who injures someone while committing a retail-related crime could get a fine of $50,000 and 15 years in prison. 'We have to distinguish between the person that's down on their luck that steals, you know, a can of Coca-Cola and a pack of crackers and is shoplifting. That's a crime, certainly, and it needs to be dealt; but under the laws, as we have been before this bill, it was much more difficult to really hit these guys that are in these gangs, driving the big theft,' said David Stumbo, solicitor, Eight Judicial Circuit. Stumbo said this bill will help lawyers bring criminals to justice. 'It is absolutely critical, that we have these tools in the trenches in the courtroom,' Stumbo said. Wilson said organized retail crime is connected with violent gang activity, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. Wilson said this bill gets South Carolina one step closer to minimizing these big issues. 'This law that allows us to take a bunch of small theft crimes and aggregate them over a 90-day period to get up to felony level and to go after the big, you know, operations,' he said. Wilson said over the last five to six years it's estimated that South Carolina businesses loose around one hundred $121 billion because of organized retail theft. Wilson said he is requesting that this bill is to be added to the State Grand Jury Act. Doing this would allow the Attorney General, Chief of SLED, Local Solicitors, and Local Law Enforcement to go after people who commit this crime. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
Tukwila Police on the hunt for 'Jean Lady' in fight against retail theft
Tukwila Police wants help in finding a person suspected of retail theft. On Jan. 21, around 7:30 p.m., a suspect entered an Old Navy store in Tukwila and left with a handful of jeans. 'As we've previously stated, if you're here to commit Organized Retail Crime (ORC) related thefts, you are going to be put on blast, you will be identified and you will be booked into jail,' Tukwila PD posted on Facebook. 'This photo is exactly what ORC looks like. Thieves that do not care or even try to conceal what they're doing.' The suspect is wanted on suspicion of second-degree theft. Police said the charges will be filed when they catch the thief. 'We are also working with our law enforcement partners to determine other locations that she likely has been stealing from in other jurisdictions.' Police ask anyone with information or who recognizes the suspect to email Officer Gentile at call the non-emergency number at (206) 241-2121 or send a private message on social media. Tukwila Police is not offering a reward but said, 'The reward is her being held accountable and hopefully deterring others who since COVID started have felt that they can commit crimes with reckless abandon and no consequences.'
