From left to right: Mark Johnson, Sr. VP of Policy & Government Affairs; Kent Liu, ORC Task Force Unit Leader; Jerry Lerum, ORC Task Force Lead Investigator; Katie Thomason, ORC Task Force Assistant Attorney General; and Renée Sunde, President & CEO.
WR President and CEO Renée Sunde and Senior VP of Policy and Government Affairs Mark Johnson participated in Tuesday’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force meeting.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson kicked off the meeting and introduced the new task force staff – pictured above. This fifth task force meeting was the best attended, with over 130 participants in person and online.
Senior Assistant Attorney General John Hillman, Division Chief for Criminal Justice, described guidelines and parameters for the task force and shared details of the first case filing. He also announced several other cases are near filing soon.
Johnson participated in the Legislative update highlighting the small business theft deterrent grants budget proviso and several ORC/retail theft bills, including Senate Bill 5056 – increasing penalties for ORC rings that use multiple accomplices and House Bill 2390 and Senate Bill 6200 allowing seizure of cars from criminals that resist arrest or elude police. On a national level, Johnson highlighted the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act CORCA – S. 140 and HR 895 – both enjoying broad bipartisan support before Congress.
WR strongly values our partnership with the ORC Task Force, which is an integral part of the multi-pronged approach to increasing worker and public safety, combating retail theft, and thwarting ORC rings.
The next ORC Task Force meeting will likely be held in March. Contact the Task Force for more information and referrals: [email protected]
