DENVER—Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper yesterday signed a bill into law that gives law enforcement officials and state prosecutors more tools to combat organized retail crime.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Loss prevention specialists, police and mall security recently completed a three-day collaborative operation at the Coronado Mall, this city's oldest mall, designed to deliver a decisive blow to organized retail crime rings in the city.
SAN FRANCISCO—A new partnership with CrimeDex will give the Wireless Loss Prevention Council's members access to the network's database of retail crime suspects and reports.
ORLANDO—Walking into The Mall at Millenia, a luxury mall with 150 stores including high-end merchants such as one of only two Rolex storefronts in the country, uniformed security officers greet guests. That is intentional, said Gregg Moore, security director of The Mall at Millenia.
It seems like the effort to get federal legislation passed to combat organized retail crime has been a non-stop battle (you can find a little history on the effort here, here and here, if you're interested). While there's been some progress at the state level to increase the charges for participating in organize retail (Pennsylvania passed legislation in June making it a felony to participate at any level in ORC activity) there's been a stalemate at the federal level.
That is until this week. On Sept. 28, the House passed the Organized Retail Theft Investigation and Prosecution Act of 2010. This legislation will create a unit inside the U.S. Department of Justice to form a task force to investigate and prosecute ORC. The department has been authorized $5 million towards this effort (although that doesn't necessarily mean they'll actually receive the full allotted amount).
I spoke with John Emling, senior vice president of government affairs for RILA, about the legislation and he said providing this type of funding will give retailers and law enforcement agencies one place to go for the necessary resources to combat ORC and prosecute offenders. In case you missed the recent story about the city of Roseville's effort to combat ORC, adequate funding is often the most critical component to fighting ORC.
Emling said he is hopeful that the Senate will pass the bill during the lame duck session after Congress reconvenes after Nov. 15. Retailers and law enforcement have been waiting for years for this, a few more months won't kill them.
HARRISBURG, Pa.—The Pennsylvania Senate on May 26 passed legislation that would make it a felony to participate, in any capacity, in organized retail crime, a move that represents ongoing effort at the state level to battle ORC, a crime that often crosses state lines.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Despite speculation that the worst of the recession is over, many retailers continue to experience an uptick in theft, even at stores that were not previously thought to be ideal targets for organized retail crime.
WASHINGTON and SAN JOSE, Calif.--A relationship that has been contentious at times has turned to collaboration after the nation's largest online retailer announced it has partnered with one of the most prominent retail associations to fight organized retail crime.
WASHINGTON and SAN JOSE, Calif.—A relationship that has been contentious at times has turned to collaboration after the nation’s largest online retailer announced it has partnered with one of the most prominent retail associations to fight organized retail crime.
ARLINGTON, Va.—As reports come in that the economy is slowly recovering, those in the retail sector do not seem to be experiencing the same rebound. In a survey released in March by the Retail Industry Leaders Association, some of the country’s largest retailers report a measured or perceived rise in retail crime.
