America's ORC Hot Spot?
Organized retail theft is costing WA millions per year
Organized retail crime is a growing challenge that demands urgent action. By many measures, Washington has the unfortunate distinction of being the state most impacted by organized retail crime. Washington state experienced over $2.7 billion in retail theft in 2021, which means major losses for our businesses large and small, hundreds of millions in lost taxes for governments and an impact on consumers. The risk and threat of violence also means that local stores are less welcoming to customers and less safe for employees.

We see it in downtown Seattle and in every other community along the Interstate 5 corridor and beyond. It strikes small neighborhood shops as well as big box retailers and department stores. Many of the retail crimes known to law enforcement and retailers are tied to other public safety issues we face in King County: gun violence, robberies, assaults, human trafficking, the fentanyl crisis, identity theft and auto theft. While the assessable impact is already high, it is also likely an undercount.

Despite law enforcement's efforts, the perpetrators are often prolific, mobile and organized - whether it's individuals stealing and reselling, informal groups doing the same or highly sophisticated, transnational criminal enterprises. We must stop viewing this as a private-sector problem. Retail crime is not simply a financial loss for retailers - it is a public safety issue for employees, customers and our community at large and requires an unprecedented public-private partnership to fight it.

As the retailers who witness it, and prosecutors and investigators responsible for building these cases, we know the evidence proves that basic needs are not the motivation. Take a few recent cases: A makeshift storefront in Burien contained 74,000 items of stolen merchandise valued at $2.4 million. The individuals would turn around and sell the merchandise online, completing 150,000 transactions worth $4.5 million. One woman was found to have stolen $527,000 worth of athletic wear from stores up and down the I-5 corridor.

An ongoing pilot between the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, the Seattle City Attorney's Office, a dozen police departments in King County and the Retail Industry Leaders Association is focusing on better coordination. Pilot members meet weekly to discuss high-impact offenders and share information with law enforcement and prosecutors on ongoing investigations and trends. In the first months of the pilot, the results were striking: The Top 10% of offenders were causing 89% of losses, adding up to millions of dollars for just a handful of retailers. The ongoing collaboration and recent prosecutions are promising - demonstrating that we can solve these crimes by working together. seattletimes.com


Fewer Store Employees Means More Theft
Commentary: Automation could be a problem in retail theft
Headed into the holiday season, the retail industry is wrangling with a surge in shoplifting and possible solutions to prevent theft. The upsurge may be an inadvertent consequence of another trend: automation.

With stores now having fewer people minding them, thieves have felt emboldened. Trade groups are pushing for new federal legislation to help fix the problem. A better solution would be for businesses to realize that workers are a greater anti-theft asset than they think.

Retail businesses are being hit hard by theft. The National Retail Federation (NRF) trade group reported last year that "shrink," the industry term for store theft, accounted for $112.1 billion in losses in 2022 across the industry, up from $93.9 billion in 2021. The NRF has yet to release figures for 2023, but an industry source indicated the problem has not abated.

The executives running the retail stores have realized this problem, says journalist Marc Fisher, author of a recent study on the rise of shoplifting for the Atlantic Monthly. They're struggling to figure out what to do, Fisher told this author.

"All of the retail industry executives, retail security experts and criminologists I spoke with cited automation as one of the key causes of the current crisis. The shift in recent decades toward automating everything from checkout to store security (cameras, AI monitors, programs such as those I described in the piece) has been accompanied by big cuts in staffing, which in turn came about in part as a cost-saving measure and, perhaps more often, because of the difficulty in hiring and retaining shop workers," Fisher said in an email.

In short, there is still no substitute for a pair of human hands and eyes. Most stores have cameras watching all areas, for example, but cameras still need someone to monitor them in addition to people on the floor who can be alerted to stop would-be thieves. Otherwise, the cameras are just an elaborate home-movie system. cei.org


Rising Retail Violence Makes Shoplifting a More Serious Problem
Stores Confront the Complicated Problem of Organized Retail Crime

Retailers are pushing for tougher laws and putting goods under lock and key as they look to combat shoplifting.

During the pandemic, mass merchants and drug stores began putting more of their product under lock and key warding off garden variety shoplifters, gangs and flash mobs that organized on social media and overwhelmed stores.

A wave of flash mobs hit stores last holiday season, when experts say retail activities of all sorts - including theft - can increase. Where years ago stolen merchandise had be fenced or sold in person, the proliferation of e-commerce platforms has opened up digital outlet for ill-gotten goods.

While shoplifting has been painted as a relatively benign crime and one that in the past didn't carry particularly serious legal consequences, that has started to change as thieves have become more organized.

Even more worrying, many retail workers have faced danger as they watch shoplifting mobs stream through their stores. And the risk can be real with even one shoplifter, as many retailers can attest.

A survey by Lotis Blue Consulting found that strong health and safety measures make employees 68 percent more likely to stay on the job. In a sign of the times, safely tech firm Axon recently introduced a new generation of body cameras designed for frontline retail workers.

"One of the reasons it is a higher priority now is because the level of violence involved, at least in the retail theft side, and then certainly with organized crime does appear to have increased," said Natalie Shield, a principal at Kearney, a global strategy and management consulting firm.

Even when violence is not involved, retail crime is hard to stop. One of the most visible theft deterrents - the locked case of goods - is a quick solution that works, but can also scare off shoppers.   wwd.com


UK Facing Historic Levels of Shoplifting
The shoplifting epidemic: how retailers can mitigate crime with simple solutions
The Home Secretary has labelled shoplifting an 'epidemic, reflected in recent ONS statistics, which revealed the highest figure of shoplifting in two decades at almost 440,000 between March 2023 and 2024 in England and Wales. While the government has voiced its commitment to tackling the rise in offences and fall in punishment rates, retailers must take it upon themselves to prevent further losses by implementing in-store solutions that mitigate theft, restore customer trust and safeguard employees.

As customers increasingly see, experience and are impacted by the rollout of anti-theft solutions across high-street stores, it begs the question as to what are the most effective approaches, technologies and store features to protect businesses, customers and staff alike.

Identifying and addressing weakness

As streaks of panic taint the retail sector, some retailers have taken a more drastic approach to anti-theft by removing self-service checkouts from stores. This, however, risks compromising the overall shopping experience and appeal to customers. Others have invested in expensive cybersecurity equipment, both costly to implement and upkeep, requiring additional employees to monitor various systems. While ultimately, these both prove effective in tackling crime, simple, innovative and cost-effective solutions should be considered first, complementing store design and functionality while contributing to a positive customer experience.

In-store display solutions

Retailers should look to solutions that simultaneously prevent shoplifting in stores and maintain a positive in-store experience for shoppers without compromising convenience or environment. One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to achieve this is by implementing retail loss-prevention solutions that present barriers to criminals and make theft more challenging but still allow customers easy access to products. Retailers should assess their current shelf management and consider integrating shelf and dispenser solutions that structure and divide product displays in such a way that prevents shoplifters from sweeping shelves.

Keeping customers at heart: retailtimes.co.uk


Despite Major Crime Drop, Retail Crime Is Up 9% on Staten Island
3 ways NYPD intends to curb retail theft on Staten Island this holiday season
As of Nov. 24, reported major crime on Staten Island is down 7.9% compared to the same time last year, according to NYPD CompStat data. While much work has been done by New York's Finest to ensure those figures remain down, there is still one crime trend that continues to plague residents and, in particular, business owners.

Assistant Chief Melissa Eger, the NYPD's new borough commander, reported back on Nov. 19 that retail crime was up 9% on the borough and the crackdown on said crimes would become a priority under her leadership.  silive.com


Hochul announces plan to combat retail theft

Indianapolis Metro Police ready to crack down on shoplifting as holiday season ramps up
 

$2M NYC ORC Bust
New York, NY: Massive organized retail theft operation busted in New York City
One of the largest organized retail theft operations in the history of Queens has been busted with millions of dollars in seized stolen goods recovered, according to officials in New York City. The thieves had an eye for cosmetics, beauty products, designer clothing, and accessories, according to prosecutors. Five people are now under arrest, including a husband and wife. Prosecutors say some of the merchandise was stolen from trucks heading to warehouses. Other items were stolen directly from stores like Macy's, Sephora, Ulta Beauty, and more. The retail thefts stretched from stores in New York down to Maryland. Thousands of stolen goods went overseas. The alleged crime crew even operated a "brick and mortar retail store" in the Dominican Republic to resell the stolen merchandise at a discount, according to prosecutors. "The defendants utilized social media, Instagram and other online resources to advertise for the stolen goods, both here and for abroad," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. Officials credit tougher new laws and $40 million in funds targeting retail theft for helping the case come together.  msn.com  urbancny.com


$200K+ Worth of Unreleased Air Jordan 11s Were Stolen From a Train Container
One of the holiday season's most anticipated sneaker drops was allegedly the target of a brazen theft in a remote California desert town. The California Highway Patrol announced Friday that seven people had been arrested in Anaheim, California after police discovered over $200,000 worth of stolen Nike footwear in a U-Haul truck. According to reports, the shoes were stolen Thursday from a stopped train container located near the Mojave Desert before being transported nearly 200 miles south to Anaheim. But the CHP Border Division's Cargo Theft Interdiction Program had been tracking the truck's route and pulled them over Friday morning.  footwearnews.com


Thornton, CO: Thieves break into jewelry store stealing large amount of gold
Several thieves broke into a Thornton jewelry store, stealing a significant amount of gold. Around 4:30 a.m. on Friday, the Thornton Police Department said the Joyeria El Ruby store, near Washington and 88th Avenue, was burglarized. Surveillance video showed two vehicles parked in front of the business, as three suspects used a crowbar to break into two doors.  msn.com


Peoria, IL: Police Bust Retail Theft Ring Targeting Walmarts
Retail theft has recently become a pressing concern for many big-box retailers across the United States, and Peoria, Illinois, is no exception. The Peoria Police Department reported significant developments concerning an alleged theft ring tied to multiple theft incidents from local Walmarts. On November 9, employees on the loss prevention team at Walmart on Allen Road witnessed shoplifting firsthand and wasted no time notifying the authorities. Within moments, the police responded and arrested five individuals who were linked to the theft. According to Sergeant Amy Dotson of the Peoria Police Department, the suspects were readily identifiable due to their previous run-ins with law enforcement.  evrimagaci.org


Hong Kong, China: $1.3M in Hermes handbags stolen in 5-minute robbery in Hong Kong
Hong Kong police are investigating a smash and grab robbery at a luxury handbag store after thieves made off with 66 Hermes handbags worth HK$10 million (US$1.3 million). The five-minute robbery, which happened on the morning of November 30, 2024, was caught on the store's surveillance cameras. A spokesman for Ginza Xiaoma, the luxury goods resale store where the robbery took place, said the business had fully compensated clients whose consigned Hermes handbags had been stolen or damaged during the robbery.  scmp.com


Toronto, Canada: Toronto Police looking for five people after smash-and-grab robbery at Sherway Gardens jewelry store

Albany, KY: KSP charges 2 in connection with over $16K jewelry theft investigation in Clinton County: 'Several' pieces recovered

Hillsborough County, FL: More Than $8,000 of Jewelry from Walmart Theft Recovered