As Americans struggle with the cost of living crisis, one of the things at the forefront of our minds is inflation. While that is certainly a major factor driving costs up, consumers can’t forget about organized retail crime. This is a type of theft and other related crimes which involve coordinated gangs of thieves taking large amounts of goods for resale – and it accounted for more than $112.1 billion in industry losses in 2022 according to a recent National Retail Federation report. This is a sharp increase from $93.9 billion in 2021.
The cost of organized retail crime impacts our wallets, but it is more than that. Major retailers like Whole Foods, Nordstrom, Target, Wawa and countless others have closed stores due to crime, leaving shoppers inconvenienced at best – or even facing food deserts at worst. Shoppers are forced to wait for long periods of time for products to be unlocked by store employees as more and more items become inaccessible due to shoplifting concerns. Life has become inconvenient – and dangerous – because of organized retail theft.
One retail employee has recounted facing 22 robberies within a two-day window and eight in 10 retailers have reported an increase in violence against employees. Gangs are employing both threats and acts of violence – including those using weapons – in these crimes.
“Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming more dire,” said National Retail Federation Vice President for Asset Protection and Retail Operations David Johnston. “Far beyond the financial impact of these crimes, the violence and concerns over safety continue to be the priority for all retailers.”
Combined, all of these aspects of organized retail crime attack our ability to achieve the American dream. As Our America’s National Director Gabriel Nadales recently wrote in The Hill, “Failure to combat retail theft is unfair to hardworking American families struggling to afford essentials and save for their futures.”
Lawmakers must tenaciously pursue policies that will encourage the U.S. criminal justice system to do its job to protect American citizens and allow them to pursue the American dream.”
Fortunately, lawmakers are working to bring an end to organized retail crime. The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023, if passed, will take significant steps toward ending the crisis. It would allow the issue to be addressed more seriously at a national level and fix the current lack of inter-agency coordination, thereby allowing it to be expeditiously addressed.
By empowering those who can help the most to take action, the bill also reduces the burden on businesses and employers as well as the cost to consumers and families. Of significant import, it will help stop the crime by holding accountable those who organize and profit the most from the crimes in addition to those who commit the crimes, profit little and are quickly replaced when arrested. The crimes themselves, especially those that include violence, are bad enough. Considering that the money gained through these operations funds larger enterprises such as gun trafficking, drug trafficking and human trafficking, they need to be taken seriously. This legislation is the right path forward.
