New Multi-State ORC Alliance
Homeland Security Investigations announces new 4-state ORC partnership

HSI Partners With LAMA-ORCA
HSI New Orleans launches multistate Organized Retail Crime Alliance
NEW ORLEANS — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans announced a new multistate collaboration July 19 to combat organized theft groups by targeting domestic and transnational criminal organizations that profit from organized retail crime. The new Organized Retail Crime Alliance connects federal, state and local law enforcement officials with prosecutors and financial and retail industry partners from Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama.

The alliance provides a multifaceted approach to disrupting and dismantling organized theft groups through partnerships, investigations and consumer awareness.

In fiscal year 2021, HSI initiated 59 organized retail crime investigations, representing a 211% increase from 19 investigations initiated in fiscal year 2020, and accounting for 61 criminal arrests, 55 indictments, 59 cases initiated, and $9,287,757 in assets seized. Organized retail theft results in $125.7 billion in lost economic activity each year as criminals use e-commerce platforms to resell stolen merchandise.

HSI’s partnerships with private industry groups, such as the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail, the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Transported Asset Protection Association and others, remain an imperative component to the overarching success of efforts to counter organized theft groups systematically disrupting interstate and foreign commerce.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

For more information on what HSI is doing in the region follow @HSINewOrleans.  ice.gov  wdsu.com


Tell Congress to Pass the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023
NRF Blog: Organized retail crime goes beyond store shoplifting

Cargo theft, ecommerce and digital fraud are growing contributors to ORC

By David Johnston - VP, AP and Retail Operations, NRF

Store-based stealing might be the most visible element of organized retail crime, but it’s not the only form of ORC impacting the retail ecosystem.

Cargo theft increased 41% over last year in the first 20 weeks of 2023 according to CargoNet, a Verisk business. Organized retail crime groups involved in cargo and supply chain theft are often more structured, operating as a business capable of moving merchandise in larger quantities through illicit, as well as legitimate, business channels.

Ecommerce and online fraud are growing contributors to ORC, not only involving product or merchandise but also digital commerce and currency.

Theft methods also include triangulation fraud, which is the purchasing of merchandise with stolen credit cards or online account credentials for the purpose of reselling obtained merchandise to an unaware third-party consumer.

Retailers are also experiencing ORC-related crimes involving gift cards.

Protecting products against organized retail crime groups requires protecting the entire retail ecosystem, including digital assets. The passage of the INFORM Act is a first step in national legislation to help against organized crime. NRF was a leader in the efforts to enact the INFORM Act and continues our member advocacy efforts with the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023 (S. 140/H.R. 895).

With bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate, the CORCA bill will bring greater federal law enforcement support and resources to aid state and local law enforcement in these sophisticated investigations. Passage of the CORCA bill is another step in our nation’s effort to reduce the impact of organized retail crime.

NRF has a grassroots campaign supporting the passing of the CORCA bill. As an NRF member, retailer, industry partner or public citizen, you can help by visiting our campaign and asking your senator or representative to support and vote for this bill. It will take a community effort to make this happen — visit the NRF Organized Retail Crime page to act! nrf.com


Washington Post Urges Congress to Pass 'Combating Organized Retail Crime Act'
Opinion: Organized thieves steal locally. Lawmakers should react nationally.
No community, it seems, is immune from the recent spike in organized retail crime (ORC), which is the term security specialists use to distinguish planned, large-scale stealing to supply the black market from individual cases of the “five-fingered discount.”  Causes of the surge range from the opioid epidemic — ORC rings often recruit addicts to steal for them — to lax enforcement of shoplifting laws in some jurisdictions to the ease with which goods can be resold online.

ORC is not organized on a national scale. Yet that does not mean combating it can be left to local officials alone. Federal and state action will be needed, in part because some ORC — as in the D.C. area — does cross state lines and in part because its cumulative impact extends widely.

The most significant federal measure to date, the Inform Act, took effect on June 27. Under the law, online marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon have to collect, verify and disclose certain identifying information about high-volume third-party sellers of consumer products, to help deter vendors of stolen and counterfeit goods. Also last month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) announced a plan for voluntary information-sharing among brick-and-mortar stores, online marketplaces and law enforcement.

It’s too early to judge these policies’ impact. But at least they reflect the reality, articulated in the National Retail Federation’s April report, that ORC’s decentralized nature makes fighting it largely “an intelligence problem,” which calls for “significant improvements in data collection.” The next step should be for Congress to enact the bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, which has been pending in both houses since early this year. The bill declares that ORC “threatens … safety and liberty,” and gives federal prosecutors the authority to go after money-laundering connected to ORC. Most important, it would establish a federal ORC coordination center, staffed by officials from federal law enforcement agencies and housed in the Department of Homeland Security, to facilitate information-sharing among investigators at all levels of government and the businesses affected.

Government and business have been slow to react to ORC, at times seeming almost bewildered by the sheer brazenness and undeniable smarts with which the thieves and associated fencing rings have operated. Meanwhile, damage has been done to the economy and to the public’s basic feeling of safety in retail spaces. Law enforcement needs to be given the tools to respond — then use them with countervailing speed and sophistication. washingtonpost.com


Another State Wages War on ORC
Oregon to crack down on retail theft operations with new policies
Oregon lawmakers have passed multiple policies meant to crack down on the rise of large-scale retail theft operations, including funding for statewide and local police departments.

Jeremy Girard, President of the Organized Retail Crime Association of Oregon, says part of the problem is the opioid crisis.

"Similar to other parts of the country, Oregon is facing a fentanyl crisis and a lot of these individuals that engage in shoplifting are unfortunately addicted to fentanyl," he said. "One of the easiest ways for them to buy fentanyl is to steal merchandise that is easy to resell."

Girard is also a member of Oregon's Retail theft task force comprised of prosecutors, law enforcement agencies, retail associations, and loss prevention specialists. This year the task force's recommendations to lawmakers resulted in multiple policies such as SB-900 which will provide grants to local law enforcement agencies of about $5 million dollars.

The funds will be distributed by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission in the form of competitive grants to both local and state law enforcement agencies. The so-called "Christmas Tree Bill" - or omnibus budget bill for this year - also contained just under $1 million in funding for a statewide investigator position housed within the Department of Justice. The investigator will look at potential connections between retail theft cases across the state.

Senate Bill 340 has already been signed by the governor, it increases penalties and facilitates the prosecution of organized retail theft crimes. The measure allows prosecutors in one Oregon county to charge the same criminal for organized retail theft crimes committed across county lines. It allows prison sentences of up to 3 years will for repeat offenders.

Under the measure prosecutors will also be given a six-month window to lump multiple retail theft crimes together, that’s up from three months. SB 340 also increases the severity of the theft if the perpetrator puts people's physical safety at risk.  katu.com


Shoplifters Released at Stores?

The Criminal Justice System is Moving to Non-Violent No-Bail
Though other states have enacted cash bail changes, Illinois is the first state to eliminate it.

Los Angeles County Adopts Sweeping Policies to Reduce Cash Bail
Los Angeles County courts announced Tuesday, July 18, that sweeping new protocols will go into effect Oct. 1 to significantly reduce the use of cash bail for those arrested or cited for nonviolent, nonserious, low-level offenses.

Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner said during a video news conference that the shift moves the Superior Court system away from a wealth-based prearraignment detention system that "rises and falls on one's ability to pay money bail, regardless of risk to the community."

"Rather, for those arrested for nonviolent, nonserious felonies and misdemeanors, our new protocol will determine release status, based on risk and on an individual's circumstances," Jessner said.

The protocols, unanimously adopted by the court's executive committee, are based on research showing that a prearraignment monetary bail system is inequitable and ineffective in protecting the public and ensuring nonviolent offenders return to court, Jessner said.

A newly released Judicial Council of California study shows that risk-based release decisions that are not reliant on money bail result in increased public safety, with a 5.8% decrease in rearrest/rebooking for misdemeanors and a 2.4% decrease for felonies. according to the courts.

The majority of individuals arrested for low-level, nonviolent, nonserious offenses will be released at the location of arrest or booked and then released on their own recognizance with a promise to appear in court, according to the new protocols.

Individuals arrested for certain crimes that pose a greater risk to the public will be referred to a magistrate, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, who will determine the appropriate nonfinancial prearraignment release.

The schedules adopted by Los Angeles County courts are consistent with those in other jurisdictions throughout the nation, including Alaska, New Jersey, Kentucky and Washington, D.C. officer.com


Sheriffs Speak Out Against 'America's Most Dangerous Law'
Illinois sheriffs brace for fallout of ‘America’s most dangerous law’ after state supreme court ends cash bail

'It’s an experiment on the backs of victims of crime,' says Franklin County Sheriff Kevin Bacon

Sheriffs in southern Illinois say they are bracing for more crime and more victims that result from the end of cash bail across the state.

"Folks who live here are extremely concerned," Franklin County Sheriff Kevin Bacon told Fox News. "It's an experiment on the backs of victims of crime. I have serious concerns and so do the people that live here."

On Tuesday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in favor of eliminating the state's cash bail system. The ruling takes effect Sept. 18, making Illinois the first state to fully abolish cash bail.

Under the new law, judges across Illinois will not require those charged with a crime to post bail in order to be released from jail while they await trial, unless the judge determines them a threat to the public or a flight risk.

Sheriff Jeff Bullard of Jefferson County said law enforcement and attorneys will be the ones who bear the brunt of these changes.

"We did our job. We arrested them, incarcerated them," Bullard told Fox News, "and then the state's attorney makes the argument that they should be remanded for trial, and the judge, based on the SAFE-T Act guidelines, says, ‘Now I'm forced to let them go.’"

"That's going to increase crime victim frustration … and we share that frustration with them," he said. foxnews.com


San Francisco Retailers Grapple with Theft Surge
Some anti-theft measures are frustrating to paying customers

Retailers in San Francisco try variety of tactics to cut down on theft
For months now, retailers in San Francisco have been trying a variety of tactics to cut down on retail theft -- from locked plastic cases, to security gates.

At the CVS store by Fisherman’s Wharf, one of the city’s most popular tourist spots, the drinks are in a locked glass case so customers have to ask employees for help. Same goes for anything out of the food cases and of course, the liquor section. All of them are behind lock and key.

For some Bay Area residents, the extra step when shopping for cosmetics or other merchandise has become the norm. But it's new to see in the food sections.

Some retailers across San Francisco are trying to deal with thefts in several different ways. Some of them are shutting down secondary exits, like the Walgreens on Geary, so that customers can only go in and out through one door. The same store on Geary has also recently chained up its freezer section, to prevent theft.

For paying customers, the new security creates another challenge when shopping for even the most basic items.

And steel gates have been installed on some closed aisles and other entry points in an effort to funnel customers through one exit. In prepared statements, spokespeople for Safeway and Walgreens, each acknowledged the new security measures.

Both said retail theft is one of the industries' biggest problems. According to a report by the U.S. Customs Service and the Association of Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, retailers across the country lost about $35 billion from theft in 2021. nbcbayarea.com

   RELATED: SF Safeways add gates barring shoppers from leaving without receipt


Note On Doors: Closings Are the Result of “Ongoing Theft"
The Kansas City area is losing two grocery stores. The owners blame theft
The owners of 11 Kansas City area discount grocery stores have closed one and will close another at the end of this month.

Both are Save a Lot locations: Independence and Gladstone. Owned by Value Grocers LLC vice president of operations Syed Haider wrote in a note posted on both grocery stores’ doors that the closings were the result of “ongoing theft” as well as “general business decline.”

Reached by The Star, Haider said internal and external theft at the Independence location was the primary reason for its closure.

“Theft has gone way up the past couple of years at our stores,” Haider said. “People steal meat, they steal canned goods. They take it, put it in their pocket, and walk out. And we’ve had trouble getting the police to respond.” kansascity.com


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