New ORC group forms in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla.—A new group in this city is the most recent addition to the growing list of public-private partnerships forming around the country to combat organized retail crime.

The Tulsa Police Department has created a new Organized Retail Crime Unit, which is collaborating with local retailers to combat professional shoplifters, according to a news report from local TV station KTUL. Detective Lori Visser, a member of the newly formed ORC unit, said the group has already identified between 40 and 60 organized shoplifting groups operating in and around the city. She also said ORC has cost the local taxpayers more than $1 million in lost tax revenue. "It's a huge problem right now," Visser told the station.

Mike Sharon, a loss prevention professional at Reasor's, a regional grocery chain, told the station the group is well received in the area. "I've been doing this for 26 years and it's something that we've needed for a long time," he said.

Public-private partnerships have popped up throughout the country to combat ORC, including the Albuquerque Retail Assets Protection Association and the Los Angeles Area Organized Retail Crimes Association.