NRF 2020 Organized Retail Crime Report
A benchmarking study on how ORC impacts the retail industry.

Retailers Report Rising Cases & Increased Losses From Organized Thefts

Retailers cited relaxed law enforcement guidelines, changes in shoplifting laws and decreased penalties for shoplifting among the causes for increased ORC.

WASHINGTON - Organized retail crime is continuing to grow, with the number of dollars lost topping a key threshold for the fifth year in a row and three-quarters of retail companies that have been victims saying activity is up, according to the 16th annual ORC study released today by the National Retail Federation.

"Retailers are seeing more cases and higher losses as organized crime continues to target stores, warehouses and cargo," NRF VP for Research Development and Industry Analysis Mark Mathews said. "Retailers are investing millions to fight these crimes, but they need more help from law enforcement and, most of all, they need tougher laws that recognize the difference between petty shoplifting and professional crime for profit."

The survey found 75 percent of loss prevention executives at a cross-section of large and mid-sized retail companies said ORC activity had increased in the past year, up from 68 percent last year. Losses averaged $719,548 per $1 billion in sales, a 2 percent increase from last year and the fifth year in a row that the figure topped the $700,000 mark.

Current losses compare with only $453,940 in 2015, and the increase of nearly 60 percent comes as many states have raised the threshold of what constitutes a felony, allowing criminals to steal more before being subject to stronger penalties than a misdemeanor. Among retailers surveyed, 64 percent have seen an increase in average ORC case values in states where that has happened, up sharply from 51 percent who said the same each of the past two years.

Close to two-thirds (61 percent) of retailers said their companies are prioritizing ORC more than they were five years ago, with 52 percent allocating more technology to reducing risks such as ORC-related thefts and 36 percent increasing loss prevention budgets.

Retailers are looking for more support from law enforcement, with only 64 percent saying they were satisfied with help received from local police (down from 84 percent last year), 55 percent with state authorities (down from 75 percent) and 50 percent with federal agents (down from 69 percent). ORC often crosses state lines, and around 70 percent of those surveyed each of the previous three years had said a federal ORC law is needed. But with no action on ORC in Congress in a decade, the number fell to 62 percent this year. Read More Here

Note: The survey was conducted before the full economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic was seen, and may not reflect the impact, if any, that the pandemic has had on ORC.
 

Protests & Violence

2020's murder increase is 'unprecedented.' But is it a blip?

The spike in murder across the board in the United States defies easy explanation.
But getting control of the pandemic looms large on lists of proposed solutions.

Overall crime has dropped dramatically in the U.S. since the late 1990s, but the 2020 homicide rate "now exceeds the rates of the late '80s and '90s, before the big drop," says Richard Rosenfeld, lead author of "Pandemic, Social Unrest and Crime in US Cities," a new report. "This round of crime increase is unprecedented."

This year, 51 cities of various sizes across the U.S. saw an average 35% jump in murder from 2019 to 2020 - a "historically awful" development, says New Orleans-based crime analyst Jeff Asher, who crunched those numbers. A different study looking at 21 U.S. cities found 610 more murders in those jurisdictions this year over last year. In those cities, gun assaults increased by 10% over 2019.

One nonviolent crime that's rising is shoplifting. An estimated 54 million Americans are struggling with hunger this year, a nearly 50% rise since 2019. High joblessness, the end of federal pandemic aid, and a relative lack of a safety net in the U.S. are leading to high rates of despair, experts say. csmonitor.com

NYC Shootings Have Doubled From Last Year
New York City Police to Target Gang Leaders in Campaign Against Gun Violence
New York Police Department detectives will target gang leaders in a fresh campaign against gun violence as New York City grapples with a rise in shootings that is more intense than any seen in the previous 20 years, police officials said.

Gun violence in New York has surged in 2020 to heights unseen in a decade, according to NYPD data. The city has recorded 1,412 shooting incidents in the first 11 months of 2020, a nearly 96% rise from 721 in the same period last year. The number of shooting victims in the city was 1,730 in the first 11 months of this year, more than double the same year-ago period.

Police officials believe that roughly half of this year's shootings were linked to gang activity. Many of the conflicts that led to those shootings were fueled by personal disputes or clashes over the illegal drug trade or control of gang turf, the officials said.

To stem the rise in shootings, NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said in an interview that police would focus their efforts for the coming year on leadership of local crews, with a law-enforcement strategy known as precision policing. Chief Harrison also said officers would redouble their efforts to strengthen relationships in communities with high numbers of shootings. He said some residents have been less likely to participate in police investigations amid a rise in antipolice sentiment following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis police custody. wsj.com

Rising Gun Violence Across America:

Chicagoans reflect on devastating year of gun violence, and what can be done to stop it

Los Angeles Police Dept. reports more homicides than they've seen in over a decade

Philadelphia: Gun violence frustration leads to possible solutions, city leaders say

Miami-Dade top cops discuss growing rate of gun violence in area


Atlanta: Lenox Square Mall to add metal detectors, gun-sniffing K-9s
to security plans after shootings
One of Atlanta's busiest malls will be adding metal detectors to a growing list of safety precautions in the face of multiple shootings, or reports of shots fired inside or nearby, in the last year.

"Lenox Square is one of the most surveilled environments in Atlanta and has 18 times more security personnel by square acre than the city of Atlanta," the mall said in a statement.

Officials with Lenox Square are adding new methods to their security protocol. In addition to linking their more than 200 security cameras and adding license plate readers at vehicle entrance points, the mall said it has recently added K-9 patrols trained to detect firearms. Perhaps the most talked-about additions, however, are metal detectors designed to check for firearms.

And, finally, the mall pointed to an "Operations Intelligence Center" staffed with 120 trained specialists who are tasked with monitoring closed-circuit surveillance video in real-time. 11alive.com

Minneapolis Riots - Target HQ Arson Update
Three More Charged
Three Men Charged With Conspiracy To Commit Arson Of Target Corporation HQ
A federal indictment charging SHADOR TOMMIE CORTEZ JACKSON, 24, VICTOR DEVON EDWARDS, 31, and LEROY LEMONTE PERRY WILLIAMS, 34, each with one count of conspiracy to commit arson of the Target Corporation's corporate headquarters building announced on Dec. 10th. JACKSON, EDWARDS, AND WILLIAMS were previously charged via federal complaint with arson. Formal detention and arraignment hearings will be scheduled at a later date.

According to allegations in the federal indictment and documents filed with the court, on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, Minneapolis experienced arson, rioting, and looting following the suicide of a suspect in a homicide, and in response to false rumors surrounding the man's death. JACKSON, EDWARDS, and WILLIAMS, along with unidentified others, breached the doors and entered the Target Corporation building. Once inside, JACKSON intentionally set a fire on a counter inside the mailroom while EDWARDS stood nearby. EDWARDS later added a liquid accelerant to the fire located on the mailroom counter with the intent to fuel the existing fire. justice.gov

No Video - No Witnesses - No Case
Prosecutors: No charges in pawnshop killing during George Floyd unrest
County Attorney says state can't refute owner's claim of self-defense.
Hennepin County prosecutors said Monday that they would not bring criminal charges against a south Minneapolis pawnshop owner who fatally shot a man during the unrest that followed George Floyd's death earlier this year, saying they lacked the evidence to rebut the owner's self-defense claim.

County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement that the destruction of potential video evidence by looters and the refusal of key witnesses to testify precluded prosecutors from charging the owner, John Rieple, in the death of 43-year-old Calvin Horton. startribune.com