ORC Increasing Risk of Violence
Collaboration with Police More Important than Ever

By Tony Hunt, General Manager Loss Prevention, London Drugs

Vancouver, BC - It was a quiet evening, and a lone clerk was working in the electronics department of a large format store. A scary and potentially dangerous encounter began with a group of young men entering the store individually, then gathering in the electronics section. They browsed for 60 seconds or so looking at all the coolest tech. The staff member was about to call for some additional help when things turned violent in a moment.

In a coordinated and aggressive attack, the assailants, all 6 of them, simultaneously began violently ripping electronics display items from tables and shelves. They targeted thousands in high-value electronics, and as they scrambled to leave, they pushed the clerk and knocked over customers who had the misfortune of being in the way.

Police have identified a coordinated group in what has been a series of swarming robberies. Some of the suspects are juveniles who are being led by adults in their crimes.

Organized Retail Crime is evolving rapidly in Canada.

Thankfully, swarming robberies and grab-and-go thefts are rare in Canada, but other types of ORC activity is leading to increased violence. ORC, fueled by a growing opioid crisis, has been serving up an endless stream of desperate Boosters. Stealing thousands a day for fencing operations, their desperation has led to a 300% increase in violent acts towards front-line staff over the last two years for one retailer.

Canada has some strict privacy laws, so Canadian Loss Prevention professionals seek the support of Police to share intelligence and fight ORC.

Enter Cooperative Policing. Cooperative policing initiatives around Organized Retail Crime are thriving in many jurisdictions. Some use secure websites for information sharing and have conducted well-funded public awareness initiatives to highlight the negative impacts of Organized Retail Crime.

Some of the successful examples are in Edmonton, Greater Toronto (several surrounding agencies), Vancouver, and Calgary. These Police agencies are leaders in working with business to make better communities.

Sadly, there are still those in Policing who see a theft from a retailer as “a call” - a single incident of shoplifting to be avoided. Retailers in Canada are working to help Police avoid low impact calls and increase the focus on serious thefts, or interviews of prolific shop-theft suspects who may point to upstream fencing operations.

A challenge in diverting low impact theft calls is that the Criminal Code of Canada requires that retailers “turn over to a police officer forthwith” anyone apprehended. The Retail Council of Canada has been encouraging changes to the Criminal Code of Canada to allow Loss Prevention Professionals to “notify a police officer forthwith” instead. If successful, it will allow retailers to divert select cases to Alternative Measures or Restorative Justice programs without Police attendance.

The ORC situation in Canada is becoming more fluid. Cooperation and innovation are key. Canadian LP professionals know that our front-line retail workers and customers need support, and we are actively utilizing Cooperative Policing to provide it.