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2012 Archives
Middle Tennessee TJX apprehends one suspect in ORC ring.
One of the five members of an ORC ring has been arrested
on felony charges, her four suspected friends are still
on the loose. (source
newschannel5.com)
Excerpts from
GAO-11-675: Efforts to Combat Organized Retail
Crime
The U.S. Government Accountability Office ORC report
June 2011
merging Regional Networks Helping Retail and Law
Enforcement Partners Share ORC Information and Build
Potential Cases
Given the importance of
identifying ORC activity and developing potential
cases across multiple jurisdictions, law enforcement
entities and retail partners have established
regional networks in recent years to facilitate
information sharing among stakeholders and
potentially identify linkages between connected
theft cases. As previously discussed, ORC groups
commonly target malls and retail stores across
metropolitan areas or even along highway corridors
spanning multiple states. As a result of these
patterns, a high degree of coordination is required
to share suspect information in a timely manner and
facilitate the aggregation of multiple thefts into a
larger case. A law enforcement official in Florida
pointed out that ORC generally requires greater
coordination with other state and local law
enforcement entities than crimes such as robbery or
burglary, which tend to be more localized. To help
meet the demand for effective information sharing, a
collection of regional networks has emerged in
various locales across the country. While each
functions independently, these networks commonly
identify points of contact and help facilitate
identification of ORC suspects and potential
linkages between theft incidents. Involvement by
federal entities in these regional networks is
generally limited as the networks are primarily
targeted to retail investigators and state and local
law enforcement. However, the networks provide a
mechanism with which potential ORC cases can be
identified and developed to the point where
stakeholders may present them to the attention of
federal agencies.
While the specific format and available tools varied
between the eight regional networks we studied, they
share a number of common elements. For example, all
eight of the ORC networks include a contact database
of participating retail investigators and law
enforcement members, as well as some type of
mechanism to vet individuals requesting membership.
The primary outputs for all of these eight networks
are informational alerts to participating members
when ORC or related theft activity occurs within the
region. These alerts commonly include such data as
suspect information, incident location, and
merchandise targeted. The alerts are intended to be
issued in a timely manner after the initial incident
so that retailers and law enforcement may be able to
detect or deter further theft activity or take
additional actions if suspects are identified in
another location. As table 2 indicates, the ORC
networks we identified range from relatively basic
technology platforms, such as Google Groups, to
stand-alone websites that incorporate more advanced
tools, such as maps indicating locations of recent
theft incidents, customizable alerts, and keyword
searching to identify incidents matching selected
criteria. As an additional component, members of six
of the regional networks also hold periodic meetings
or annual conferences to discuss ORC-related trends
and activities. (Source
gao.gov)
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