Vera Institute of Justice’s Post

The dynamics of retail crime in 2023 showed that as the retail landscape evolved, so did the methods and strategies of those looking to exploit it. Stricter laws, heavier penalties, and more resources for enforcement were proposed or implemented in various regions. #OrganizedRetailCrime #ContinuesToBeOnTheRise #LegislativeCollaboration #CommercialRetailRealEstate #SVNDifference #SVNCommercialAdvisors

This case sheds light on the alarming scope of organized retail crime, a pervasive issue that has particularly impacted Washington state, ranked as the number one state in the country for retail theft. With retailers losing an estimated $2.7 billion to organized retail crime in 2021 alone, the detrimental effects on businesses and consumers are profound. Proud to see #HSI PNW leading the effort in this state to investigate and prosecute the countless organizations operating in this region. Our partnerships with Seattle Police (Adrian Zane Diaz ), the US Attorney’s Office, and most importantly the almost 20 private partners we meet with regularly make these types of outcomes possible. More success in this space is on the horizon! #OrganizedCrime #RetailTheft #LawEnforcement #CrimePrevention #CommunitySafety #WashingtonState #RetailSecurity #Collaboration #PublicPrivatePartnerships #RetailIndustry #CriminalJustice #FraudPrevention #RetailLossPrevention

Organized Retail Crime (ORC) is on the rise, and Congress needs to hear from you, imploring them to take action. The National Retail Federation has provided the link below to make the process seamless. Within this link, you will find a letter written by NRF for your convenience and an opportunity to share a personal story should you choose to. Tell Congress to support the Combating ORC Act by passing S140 and H.R. 895. This bill increases coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies by establishing a Center to Combat Organized Retail Crime at Homeland Security Investigations. This coordination is a critical step for retailers to effectively combat criminal activities. Please click below to get started. https://lnkd.in/e2x7U-t5

The governors of New York and California announced sweeping plans to crack down on retail crime this week, as trade associations and police departments lobby for government action to curb theft. The plans include new legislation designed to increase the penalties for retail crime offenses and more funding for police departments and district attorney’s offices to help them tackle theft. The announcements come as voters from both sides of the aisle point to crime as one of their biggest concerns ahead of the 2024 election. Since 2022, at least nine states — including six in 2023 — passed laws to impose harsher penalties for organized retail crime offenses, and New York and California could join that list.

Despite the media outlets, (cnn today) that pile on daily and share the opinion that there is no increase in ORC, the facts that retailers, law enforcement, and store level associates deal with daily are clear. The retailers they mention Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Dicks etc..and the industry associations are not lying or misleading people. It's real the below are facts! This represents a major crime issue and safety issue for all those involved. 1-Organized Retail Crime is increasing at a record pace 2-It’s Billions of dollars of loss 3- It is misunderstood by many reporters and non industry people 4-The violence and other crimes associated with it are also increasing at alarming rates 5-The fix is multi faceted. Public private partnerships, intelligent technology, people and processes all play a huge role 6-A broken criminal justice system is also a part of this problem

This New Yorker article about Organised Retail Crime is definitely worth a read. Although the actual numbers around losses are debated, the impact on businesses and individuals is clear. Check it out if you have a chance. #retailcrime #orc #retail #lossprevention #assetprotection

Companies Assert Surge in Organized Retail Crime Amidst Absence of Convincing Data There are reports of organized retail crime increasing, but evidence to support this is lacking. It's unclear if there's actually more criminal activity or if reporting and awareness have improved. More research is needed to understand the situation better. https://lnkd.in/gfYjDBvt #retail #organizedretailcrime #retailcrime #retailsecurity #securityawareness Global Retail Outlook Magazine

This is a disappointing article on an important subject. Let’s be clear. 1-Organized Retail Crime is increasing at a record pace 2-It’s Billions of dollars of loss 3- It is misunderstood by many reporters and non industry people 4-The violence and other crimes associated with it are also increasing at alarming rates 5-The fix is multi faceted. Public private partnerships, intelligent technology, people and processes all play a huge role 6-A broken criminal justice system is also a part of this problem 7-Groups like the NRF, LPRC, RILA, Clear, LPF and the many ORCA’s are trying their best to help support retailers. The retailer’s mentioned here and around the country are THE VICTIMS! Their employees and customers are THE VICTIMS! If you are going to report on this be clear and stop looking at the bottom of the barrel for experts, economists who know little about the issues. Daphne Howland of Retail Dive - @Daniel KlineArena group., who boasts he drives traffic . You have done an injustice to all the people in retail who are victimized by this crime epidemic daily. I’m sure you made yourself feel good. #Lossprevention #assetprotection #safeness #ceos #cfo #retailmanagement

The number of supposedly reputable news outlets that fell for and spread this #organizedretailcrime panic is embarrassing. Dozens of state legislatures passed expensive provisions in their budgets devoted solely to combatting this thing for which there was no – literally zero – credible evidence supporting it as anything other than an overblown myth. In the real world, retail theft has declined over the last two years, and all property-related crime rates this year are at their lowest since 1961. The Vice President of the United States has never lived through a safer year for postwar American retail outlets than now. Yet millions of people were led to believe every major city has been experiencing an ongoing municipal apocalypse because of a small handful of out-of-context viral videos on the internet. What exactly are professional journalists being paid to do, if not investigate and expose these kinds of lies?

The U.S. Chamber is #committed working with federal, state, and local policymakers to address this serious issue. At the federal level, the U.S. Chamber worked as part of a broad coalition to pass the INFORM Act, which takes the critical step of removing criminals’ access to online marketplaces by requiring that high-volume third-party sellers disclose and verify their identity. #Encouraged states to pass #Laws defining #Organizedretailtheft as a separate offense and pushing local prosecutors to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law. Encouraged #coordination among federal, state, and local #LawEnforcement entities to bring these groups to #Justice. #UnitedStates #Organizedretailcrime #Senate