What is Organized Retail Crime?
Organized retail crime (ORC) refers
to groups, gangs and sometimes individuals who are engaged in illegally
obtaining retail merchandise through both theft and fraud in substantial
quantities as part of a criminal enterprise. These crime rings generally consist
of "boosters" - who methodically steal merchandise from retail stores
- and fence operators who convert the product to cash or drugs as part of the
criminal enterprise. Phoenix Remains one of the top cities for ORC
in the National Retail Federation's 2016 retail crime survey.
The National Retail Federation (NRF)
2016 Organized Retail Crime Survey revealed that criminals involved in
organized retail crime are becoming more violent, putting the safety of both associates
and customers at risk with 96.5% of the respondents reporting violence either
increasing or at the same level. The survey also indicates that E-fencing on
sites like offerup.com, letgo.com and craigslist are on the rise up from 28% in
2015 to 39% in 2016
Click here to view the entire 2016 NRF ORC Survey
The Response
Partnerships between law enforcement
and retail investigators have formed to combat ORC. These
associations share cross-jurisdictional information to identify, disrupt, and
apprehend Organized Retail Crime crews.
AZORCA is a statewide crime-fighting
partnership. This association allows retailers and law enforcement to
communicate about criminal activity impacting businesses on a real-time basis
while preventing other partners from being victimized. The searchable website
and its mapping capabilities are focused on providing real-time criminal
intelligence. Through this collaborative partnership, law enforcement, legislators,
and the business community will be able to work together to identify offenders
and resolve cases, all while developing new and innovative ways to combat ORC
networks.
