Why retailers need task forces to fight organised retail crime

What should be done to stop organised retail crime (ORC)? That’s the big question for retail businesses nationwide, as widespread concerns about ORC have sparked a multitude of strategies spanning everything from state-of-the-art surveillance technology, to advocacy for new state and federal legislation, to products locked up within theft-prevention cases — and, in some extreme cases, even the decision to outright close certain brick-and-mortar locations.

Retailers are spending millions of dollars a year in their battle against organised crime rings, according to a Wall Street Journal report. But despite their willingness to invest in solutions, 70% of storefronts have nevertheless reported an increase in theft, with an estimated $95 billion in losses tied to retail shrink, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2022 Retail Security Survey.

Loss-prevention techniques

Of course, the consequences go far beyond lost revenue. At stores targeted by ORC, employees are less safe on the job: Nearly 40 percent of asset protection managers report that ORC offenders have used a weapon to harm an associate, according to the Retail Industry Leaders Association, and more than 80% of retailers say that ORC has become more aggressive and violent. Meanwhile, retailers also face serious brand risks by driving away shoppers as a result of their loss-prevention techniques. Locking up products may prevent theft, but it also hurts the in-store customer experience.

Clearly, the fight against ORC is a complex challenge that calls for action on a multitude of levels

Clearly, the fight against ORC is a complex challenge that calls for action on a multitude of levels. It’s encouraging to see both the U.S. House and Senate considering bills that would strengthen the federal response to this continuing issue. But the legislative process is slow moving — and retailers need solutions faster than the gears of Washington can turn.

Establishing greater coordination

That’s why it’s so promising to see local task forces emerge as an effective means to disrupt these criminal organisations on a broad scale. By establishing greater coordination between law enforcement agencies, local government, and retailers — and by deploying data analysis to identify the root causes of the issue, rather than the symptoms — these partnerships leverage the most advanced and targeted methods to detect and deter behaviour related to ORC.

Across the country, states like Washington, Colorado, Illinois, Utah, and California are taking matters into their own hands by launching and expanding task forces dedicated to fighting ORC. These types of task forces are gaining popularity because they’re a mutually beneficial way to stop organised crime. Oftentimes, law enforcement cannot devote resources to cases that initially appear as low-level retail theft. Retailers, on the other hand, depend on law enforcement and prosecutors to root out criminal organisations and bring bad actors to justice.

Data collection technology

At their core, the ORC task force is a refinement of existing law enforcement techniques

Recognising broader patterns of organised crime is not easy, which is why ORC task forces have become the preferred tool of choice for so many states and cities. By working together under the umbrella of a task force, all involved parties can share data that helps them quickly identify where ORC is happening, how it’s happening, and who’s behind it. 

At their core, the ORC task force is a refinement of existing law enforcement techniques, enhanced by surveillance and data collection technology that reduces crime by helping to catch repeat offenders earlier. Typically, a retailer’s asset protection team would conduct an internal investigation by collecting video and transaction data about ORC, then deliver it to law enforcement and prosecutors for further action.

Law enforcement work

With a task force, retailers and law enforcement work in close cooperation, sharing resources and data in order to make the investigatory process more nimble and efficient. Especially at the state level, these partnerships unlock crucial visibility into the aggregate impact of individual ORC rings, allowing prosecutors to levy more serious felony charges against offenders.

Again and again, retailers were lamenting how they weren’t equipped to share enough information

A little over a year ago, our LiveView Technology team attended a town hall hosted by Loss Prevention Foundation and noticed a common thread: Again and again, retailers were lamenting how they weren’t equipped to share enough information and felt like they were operating in data silos, limiting their ability to recognise and reduce ORC.

Retail parking lots

To address that problem, we joined with the Loss Prevention Research Council to facilitate the kind of analytical coordination those retailers needed. Last November, we were proud to help to launch the Alliance of Companies and Communities to Enhance Safery and Security (ACCESS) task force. We partnered with the cities of Opelika, AL and Paducah, KY, along with law enforcement and major local retailers including Lowes, JCPenney, and Walmart to improve community safety and curb ORC.

Here’s how it worked: LiveView deployed 65 total mobile surveillance units to retail parking lots across both cities. After the mobile units were put in place, the retailers, police, and the cities shared data with the Loss Prevention Research Council, which helped to anonymise, analyse, and track crime trends.

Law enforcement resources

Paducah had 33% less property crime and violent crime compared to 2021

By drawing insights from those trends, the task force was able to identify ORC faster, allocate law enforcement resources efficiently, and ultimately make their cities safer.

While the holiday season is typically a period where retailers see increased theft, both cities quickly saw positive results from the ACCESS task force. On the week of Black Friday, Paducah had 33% less property crime and violent crime compared to 2021. Meanwhile, the city of Opelika saw a 39% drop in property and violent crime after just one month.

Organised retail crime

Organised retail crime will not be solved overnight. But as more and more places embrace the potential of ORC task forces, successes like those in Paducah and Opelika are important evidence that the path to crime reduction depends on cooperation and partnership.

While we don’t know how ORC will evolve next, it’s a certainty that new methods of theft will emerge. When that happens, the task force model ensures that retailers, law enforcement, and local government will be best equipped to respond and react to make their communities safer.