The fight against ORC is intensifying: urgent action is needed

The consequences of organized retail crime are far-reaching, and the urgency to address organized retail crime has never been greater. In recent years, retailers across the United States have reported sharp increases in the frequency and magnitude of retail crime involving or associated with organized retail crime.

Even more concerning is the increase in violence associated with these crimes. More than two-thirds of respondents to the NRF's 2023 National Retail Security Survey reported experiencing even more violence and aggression from ORC perpetrators compared to the previous year.

“The ORC problem in the U.S. has certainly gotten bigger,” says Scott McBride, chief global asset protection officer at American Eagle Outfitters, “and it affects every single community in which we operate as a retail group.”

Coordinated criminal efforts

It's hard to comprehend the enormous impact of ORC. Below is a sampling of the threats and realities retailers, employees, and law enforcement faced in August alone:

• Following a three-year, multi-agency investigation into a $2.3 million theft scheme in Southern Arizona, authorities have arrested two suspects who allegedly sold the stolen goods to a Connecticut retailer, making an estimated $475,000 in profits from the illegal transactions.
• Four suspects robbed a luxury department store in Ohio and stole goods worth $196,770 – in just three minutes.
• Two men left an Alabama store with bags full of electronics valued at $11,000. Authorities now believe they are connected to more than 20 thefts elsewhere across the country.

ORC is a coordinated effort by criminal enterprises that plan and execute large-scale thefts. These groups use individuals to commit shoplifting and fraud on their behalf. They prey on homeless and drug-addicted communities to steal products for a fraction of their price. And they use the profits from the sale of these stolen goods for even more nefarious purposes.

Organized retail crime groups often use advanced techniques to evade detection, including the use of technology, insider knowledge, and organized networks. The impact of ORC goes beyond immediate financial losses, affecting everything from store operations and employee safety to broader economic consequences and community well-being.

A unified approach

Addressing this problem requires a multi-pronged approach that includes enhanced security measures, legislative action, and collaboration between retailers, law enforcement, and policymakers—a need that lawmakers addressed with the introduction of the Organized Retail Crime Control Act (HR 895/ S. 140).

McBride has built a world-class asset protection program across five continents over the past two and a half decades, and his experience has made him an authority in creating corporate security strategies.

As shoplifting gangs become more sophisticated, McBride has become increasingly vocal in calling for a unified approach from government and industry to counteract this trend. His mission? “We want to complement the work of every asset protection professional and business owner to protect their business, customers and employees,” he says, “not only from theft and price gouging caused by losses, but also from the increased violence that accompanies this type of crime in our retail stores.”

Facilitating the exchange of information

One of the key provisions of CORCA is the establishment of a new Organized Retail Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security. This center would serve as a hub for information sharing and coordination among local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, retail businesses, and other stakeholders.

By sharing data and information, the Center could facilitate a more coordinated and effective response to ORC and help identify and dismantle criminal networks more effectively. One hundred and fifty bipartisan co-signatories from both houses of Congress have recognized the scale and complexity of ORC, but more decisive action is needed to get CORCA across the finish line.

Retailers desperately need an evolution of the law to combat organized retail crime, and continued denial of the law's existence has done nothing to eradicate the problem. Retailers, states, and localities have invested billions in curbing these crimes, but stalled solutions at the federal level have allowed this intractable challenge to metastasize.

NRF's Fight Retail Crime Day returns on October 24 to mobilize the retail community and advocate for effective solutions to combat this problem. Get a head start by calling on Congress to pass the Fight Organized Retail Crime Act today.