The safety of our employees and our customers is paramount to the retail industry here in Washington State and across the country. Unfortunately, organized retail crime (ORC) rings threaten both of these.
In addition, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), retailers nationwide lost an estimated $94.5 billion and 70% of retailers believe ORC has become a more prevalent threat over the last five years. Click here to view full report.
WR applauds the steps that have been taken to combat this criminal activity plaguing our communities. The passage of the INFORM Act, a national online transparency law, has decreased the ease of selling stolen products on unsuspecting online platforms.
The Washington State Attorney General’s ORC Task Force shows great potential for cracking down on these rings and deterring them in the first place. Efforts by the ORC Task Force and the Washington State Organized Retail Crime Association (WAORCA) have brought together law enforcement, prosecutors, loss prevention, and asset protection professionals from across the state. The focus of the Seattle City Attorney’s Office on repeat offenders has been effective in taking some of the most egregious criminals off the streets.
Still more can be done. Congress is currently considering CORCA, the “Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act” (S. 140 and H.R. 895), which would bring together national agencies to focus their efforts on ORC throughout the country.
Help send a message to your congressional representatives today to encourage them to co-sponsor and support CORCA: Click here to send a message.
Together, we can stem the tide of organized retail crime in Washington State and across the nation.
