How can retailers combat organized retail crime?

Brazen retail theft is a significant problem for many retailers today. Perpetrators of organized retail crime (ORC) no longer attempt to steal using sly or subtle approaches. They now blatantly enter stores, using intimidation or violence to clear products off shelves and flee before law enforcement can respond.

The stress on the retail community is enormous. These ORC thefts come at a time when retailers are also dealing with many other issues. From supply chain and logistic problems to finding and retaining employees during a global pandemic. Add to that the losses from ORC, and many stores have had to close vulnerable locations, taking jobs and much-needed resources away from the communities they serve.

In this blog post, we’ll dive into why criminal activity is getting out of hand and how retailers can team up using collaborative technologies to fight back against smash-and-grab robberies.

Why has brazen retail theft spiked?

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an epidemic of brazen retail theft. Mostly because mask mandates provide thieves a level of anonymity they never had before.

Lockdowns, capacity restrictions, and COVID-19 quarantining also directly impacted staffing levels in stores. Combined with reduced law enforcement resources and minimal punitive consequences, ORC has become a low-risk, high-reward criminal enterprise that’s exploding across the United States.

In many states, the felony threshold for theft has also gone up substantially. Minimums for felony theft now range from $900 to $2,500 per incident in the hardest-hit cities and jurisdictions. These laws, aimed at reducing jail and prison overcrowding, inadvertently bolstered brazen retail theft.

With a minimal chance of apprehension, prosecution, or incarceration, ORC thieves are smashing their way through storefronts unabated. The stolen merchandise is then sold to fences (those that deal in stolen goods) at an average of 10-20% of retail value. The fences then monetize the products through online marketplaces, in-store returns, or barter the goods for other illicit products and services.

The true impact of smash-and-grab ORC crime

These ORC incidents aren’t victimless, petty crimes. Employees who are already braving the pandemic are fearful to return to work. And customers are deciding not to shop in stores that have been hit, fearing for their safety.

Due to liability concerns, hired security guards are often told not to physically intervene. Confronting a potentially violent offender is a risk to the customers, employees, and potentially the reputation of the brand.

For retailers, brazen retail theft goes beyond the normal risks of lost profitability. It now becomes an operational issue where management must question the business case for brick-and-mortar locations:

• How can we ensure our employees feel safe coming back for their next shift?

• How can we re-establish trust and a sense of security with our in-store customers?

• How severely will this experience impact our brand and reputation?

• How quickly can we repair damages, restock our products, and give the community the convenience of in-store shopping again?

• Is it financially and operationally feasible to re-open the store in the same location, knowing it’s vulnerable to another attack?

After enduring repeated ORC incidents, some retailers have decided the answer to the last question is, no. And as these stores close, people in the community lose employment opportunities and access to vital goods and services.

Retailers can fight ORC with collaborative evidence management

What’s the best way for retailers to address Organized Retail Crime (ORC)? By compiling evidence when these thefts occur and by engaging law enforcement, and District Attorney (DA) offices to build cases with dollar amounts that warrant felony-level charges.

A single instance of brazen theft might not be enough to prompt the indictment of suspects. But if retailers collaborate to share evidence between themselves, they may be able to show that there’s a criminal enterprise at work. And that could spur law enforcement and prosecutors into action.

Retailers with dedicated ORC teams tasked to address the problem all agree that compiled evidence tells the full story. From video recordings of the initial thefts and tracking where the stolen goods are stored to the final monetization method, a potential case must be laid out in detail.

Tools like Genetec Clearance make this job much easier. This digital evidence management solution allows retailers to quickly compile video files, analytics, license plate recognition systems, bystander video from phones, and social media posts in one secured location.

Using Clearance, case administrators can send secure links to stakeholders to upload additional evidence and to law enforcement to view and save files.

They can also assign unique privileges to users that need case-specific access and all activity is automatically logged by Clearance. This means users are only able to see, add, or download files according to what their permissions allow, and a full chain of custody is always upheld.

As the case is compiled, all details and evidence can be shared with law enforcement, prosecutors, and other stakeholders. Should responsibilities change, the case administrator can add or remove user privileges at any time.

Since Clearance is a cloud-based solution, large cases can be easily compiled from multiple sources without file size, storage volume, or proprietary software restrictions. There’s also no need to download video players or convert files into specific formats because that’s done automatically by the digital evidence management solution.

Clearance minimizes costs and complexity for loss prevention teams, law enforcement, and attorneys, which leads to compiling successful ORC cases faster.

It’s time to take action against organized retail crime

According to the National Retail Federation, there’s been a 60% rise in ORC in the U.S. since 2015, with nearly 70% of retailers seeing an increase in 2021. With violent incidents in stores on the rise as well, there’s an even greater need for all retailers to work together to arrest, prosecute, and gain convictions.

Do your loss prevention teams have all the tools necessary to combat ORC? Take a look at how Genetec Clearance can help retailers and local law enforcement band together to fight back.