Making Organized Retail Crime a serious offense

In talking with a loss prevention consultant recently, I was reminded of how hard it is to get a case made and prosecuted these days -- even if it is a case of organized retail crime (a.k.a., organized shoplifting rings). Retail crimes that cross states just aren't as appealing to federal investigators, my consultant friend told me, as counter-intelligence or drug cases might be.

But at the same time, retailers (large or small) are a cornerstone of our nation's economic fortitude because they employ millions and have a way of encouraging our nation's entrepreneurs (product inventors or designers, up-and-coming sales persons, small store owners, etc.). And no matter how much we focus on point-of-sale integration with digital video, if the criminals are directly bypassing our sales counters, then we've missed that opportunity to shrink the shrink.

It's encouraging therefore that the National Retail Federation was able to work with two Congressional legislators to get a bill into the House that would make organized retail crime a federal offense. It's time this form of organized theft be escalated to a serious issue. Shoplifting is a very serious business once it's organized, and as many good investigators know, organized theft rings have a way of becoming tied in with even more insidious groups.

What's most important about this bill is that it covers loopholes in organized retail crime for which the RICO statutes wouldn't have been applicable. Here's what our expert blogger and friend Curt Baillie of Security Consulting Strategies had to say about the RICO loophole: "Theft is covered under RICO, but possession of stolen property is not covered under RICO. In order to charge under the RICO statutes you need to actually catch the thieves in possession of the stolen goods and in the act of stealing the goods."

Related reading: News of the proposed legislation | SIW Forums thread on the legislation | Curtis Baillie's Security2LP blog

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Sharing LP tips and tactics

While we're on the topic of loss prevention, I should mention that loss prevention employees in our forums were sharing the basic tips that every newbie needs to learn. Have you trained your staff on some of the basic skilled undercover loss prevention tactics (cell-phone style ear buds, hats, finding good viewing angles, identifying prime theft locations and more)? Check out the thread, join the forums, and add your tips for loss prevention employees.