Federal Legislation Can Fill Gaps in State ORC Laws
State ORC Laws Prove Effective, but Experts Say Federal Legislation Would Strengthen Crime Prevention

By the D&D Daily staff

In recent years, a growing number of states have passed laws targeting Organized Retail Crime (ORC), a coordinated form of theft involving groups that steal merchandise to resell for profit. These laws have helped local authorities crack down on theft rings and recover stolen goods, but experts and law enforcement officials say a nationwide strategy is needed to fully address the scope of the problem.

States including California, Texas, and Florida have passed ORC-specific statutes, creating dedicated task forces, enhancing penalties for repeat offenders, and facilitating cooperation between retailers and law enforcement. These efforts have led to a measurable reduction in large-scale retail theft in some regions.

“State laws have been incredibly helpful,” said Jason Whitaker, a retail security consultant based in Illinois. “They’ve raised awareness, improved coordination, and allowed prosecutors to pursue more serious charges against ORC networks.”

However, while state laws address local aspects of the issue, experts argue that the often-interstate nature of ORC rings calls for a federal response. Many criminal operations span multiple states, using online marketplaces to resell stolen goods and exploit differences in legal frameworks.

“In many cases, these groups move stolen merchandise across state lines or use the internet to sell items in other jurisdictions,” said Amanda Chen, a policy analyst with the National Retail Federation. “That’s where state laws reach their limit. A federal law would help fill the gaps and streamline investigations.”

In March, bipartisan legislation was reintroduced in Congress that would create a national ORC database, enhance penalties for interstate retail theft, and give federal agencies greater authority to investigate large-scale operations. Supporters say the measure would complement state efforts and close loopholes that ORC groups often exploit.

Despite broad support from law enforcement and retail groups, the legislation has faced hurdles, including debates over data privacy, enforcement funding, and the balance of state versus federal authority. Still, momentum continues to build as more retailers report rising losses tied to organized theft.

“State laws are a good first line of defense,” Whitaker added. “But ORC is a national problem—and we need national tools to fight it.”

As the 2025 legislative session continues, retailers and advocacy groups are urging Congress to take action. They argue that, without a unified federal approach, ORC groups will continue to adapt and thrive in the gaps between state-level protections.


'Game-Changer': New ORC Law Passes in Maryland
Police can now track repeat offenders and pursue criminals more effectively

Maryland passes legislation to combat organized retail theft
The Maryland General Assembly passed the Organized Retail Crime law into effect on Wednesday, closing a loophole that allowed criminals to avoid being pursued by law enforcement for stealing goods from businesses.

The new law will prevent individuals from moving region to region to stay below Maryland's $1500 felony theft threshold and avoid being charged with serious offenses.

According to a press release, police can now track repeat offenders and pursue criminals more effectively. The law creates a clearer definition of organized retail crime, enabling statewide data collection and theft to be aggregated across jurisdictions.

"This is a major victory for public safety and economic stability in Maryland," House sponsor Delegate Karen Toles said. "With this new law, we're sending a clear and concise message: organized retail crime will no longer go unchecked in our state."

Cailey Locklair from the Maryland Retailers Alliance calls the law a "game-changer," as it treats organized retail theft as a serious issue instead of just a bunch of random thefts. cbsnews.com


Retailers Celebrate New Anti-Theft Task Force in Canada
Vancouver retailers applaud anti-theft task force amid 'egregious' shoplifting spike
Retailers are welcoming a new task force being created by the City of Vancouver to tackle a spike in retail theft that it says is led by organized crime and repeat offenders.

Vancouver council on Wednesday passed a motion creating the retail security task force aimed at curbing the thefts and improving safety for businesses and employees.

Vancouver Police say there were almost 7,700 shoplifting incidents in the city last year, up 12 per cent compared to 2023, while shoplifting in the downtown core was up 40 per cent.

Mayor Ken Sim said in a statement that retail theft hurt communities across the city, and the task force was aimed at tackling the situation.

The task force will bring together Vancouver police, business improvement associations, retailers, legal experts, social service providers and the provincial government to look at the root causes of the thefts.

The city said the group will study effective models elsewhere over the next six months and deliver a report to council with recommendations.

“This isn’t just about stolen goods. It’s about protecting workers, standing up for local businesses, and making sure the people who keep our neighbourhoods thriving feel safe and supported,” Sim said in Thursday's statement.  coastreporter.net


Retail Theft Battle Among City Leaders
Norfolk mayor, Commonwealth's Attorney clash over prosecuting retail theft

Norfolk mayor Kenny Alexander called for stronger prosecution of shoplifters, while CA Ramin Fatehi said he needs more resources to do so.

More needs to be done to crack down on retail theft, according to Norfolk Mayor Kenny Alexander. But the city's Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi says his office is already on top of that, and he’s already asked the city for more staffing and resources so his office can do more.

The mayor made comments on the issue while presenting the annual State of the City address on Friday. "Across the nation, businesses are experiencing shoplifting at levels that cause items to be placed behind locked panels," Alexander said. "The lack of prosecution for retail theft is unacceptable."

Fatehi released crime stats to 13News Now, showing an 11% drop in property crimes, including burglary and larceny, so far this year compared to last year. He added that theft from ABC stores accounted for a significant portion of shoplifting crimes in the city last year.

"I don't know what the mayor is talking about. I live in this city. My children and my wife and I live here, so that's not the Norfolk I know," Fatehi said, adding his office prosecutes "hundreds" of felony larceny cases. 13newsnow.com


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Denton police report declines in violent and property crimes
 

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TikTok Ban Delayed Another 75 Days
TikTok deal scuttled because of Trump's tariffs on China

The president had initially given China’s ByteDance until Saturday to sell or divest its U.S. TikTok business. The company now has 75 additional days.

President Donald Trump on Friday said he would extend by 75 days the deadline for TikTok's owner to find a non-Chinese buyer, averting what could have been another disruption of the app.

The decision came as something of a surprise, with Trump and top administration figures, including Vice President JD Vance, sounding confident that a substantive resolution would be reached this week.

But that was before Trump's sweeping tariffs — on China and other countries — went into effect.

ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, must find a non-Chinese buyer for the app or else it will be banned under a law passed in 2024. Trump had previously delayed the app’s ban via executive order on his first day in office, effectively giving ByteDance until April 5 — Saturday — to comply with the law.

A deal had been agreed to as of Wednesday, but the recently imposed tariffs on China presented a late breaking hurdle, two people familiar with the talks, who were granted anonymity to share details of private discussions, told NBC News. ByteDance representatives informed the White House on Thursday, after the tariffs were implemented, that China would not accept a deal until there could be negotiations around trade and tariffs, one of these people said. nbcnews.com


'Harder for Defenders to Detect or Disrupt Malicious Activity'
CISA, FBI warn of fast flux technique used to hide malicious servers

Criminal and state-linked hackers use fast-changing DNS records to make it harder for defenders to detect or disrupt malicious activity.

The FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and a group of international partners on Thursday warned that cyber threat groups are using a technique called “fast flux” to hide the locations of malicious servers, posing a significant threat to national security.

Authorities warned that both criminal and state-linked threat groups have used fast flux to obfuscate the locations of these servers using fast-changing Domain Name System records. They also can create highly resilient command and control (C2) infrastructure to conceal their malicious operations, particularly in connection with botnets.

Fast flux techniques are not only used for C2 communications but also in phishing campaigns to protect social engineering websites from being blocked or taken down, authorities said.

Authorities did not specify whether there is an active campaign using fast flux or directly name any threat actor currently using the technique. However, they did reference past activity, noting that fast flux has been used in previous ransomware attacks linked to Hive and Nefilim. Additionally, a Russia-backed threat actor known as Gamaredon has also used fast flux to mask threat activities, according to the advisory. cybersecuritydive.com


Ramping Up AI
Microsoft’s Copilot can now browse the web and perform actions for you

For its 50th birthday, Microsoft is teaching its AI-powered Copilot chatbot a few new tricks.

Copilot can now take action on “most websites,” Microsoft says, enabling it to book tickets, reserve restaurants, and more. The bot has gained the ability to remember specific things about you, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, like your favorite food and films. And it can now analyze real-time video from your phone, answering questions in the context of what it “sees.”

The upgrades come as Microsoft is reportedly mulling a revamp of Copilot, which has historically been powered by AI models from OpenAI, with more of its own in-house technology. Copilot has often lagged behind rivals ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, which in recent months have only ramped up the pace of feature rollouts. techcrunch.com


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Washington County, OR: 16 people arrested for retail theft in Washington County in joint mission
Sixteen people were arrested during a coordinated retail theft operation conducted by Washington County law enforcement and major retailers on April 4, authorities said. The Washington County Sheriff's Office partnered with the Beaverton Police Department and loss prevention staff from Target and Home Depot stores throughout Beaverton and Washington County for the one-day operation, according to a sheriff's office statement. Detectives and uniformed officers identified individuals allegedly engaged in theft activities, recovering hundreds of dollars in merchandise. Among those arrested were 12 adults and four teens. The adults, ranging in age from 23 to 48, face charges including third-degree theft, second-degree theft, second-degree criminal trespass and unlawful possession of methamphetamine. Several suspects were also arrested on outstanding warrants.  kgw.com


Riverside County thieves wanted for using stolen credit cards on $9,000 shopping spree
Police are searching for two Riverside County suspects who stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise using stolen credit cards. The victim initially lost their wallet which contained their credit cards on Dec. 5, 2024, Corona police said. Shortly after, they began receiving alerts of unauthorized purchases on their stolen cards. The two thieves had purchased around $9,000 worth of merchandise from Costco and Best Buy stores in Corona, police said. On March 26, authorities released surveillance footage of the male and female suspects shopping at Costco.  ktla.com


Ventura County, CA: Pair bring newborn during retail thefts at CVS, TJ Maxx and Marshalls, arrested for endangerment