Criminals, take notice: the federal ORC legislation initiative is still alive and well. A new bill was introduced in the House of Representatives – and that makes five in Congress – to establish the Organized Retail Theft Investigation and Prosecution Act of 2010. The bill defines ORC as “obtaining retail merchandise by illegal means for the purpose of reselling or otherwise placing such merchandise back into the stream of commerce; or aiding or abetting the commission of or conspiring to commit any of these acts.”
Members of Congress involved in the effort believe ORC and e-fencing are serious issues deserving of a federal law enforcement solution due to their multi- jurisdictional nature and overall impact on interstate commerce.
So, you’re probably asking…Is this bill any different? Haven’t we already been down this road four other times?
Answer: Yes and Yes.
Under this bill, the government would create the Organized Retail Theft Investigation and Prosecution (ORTIP) unit within the Department of Justice to include investigators, prosecutors and other personnel as necessary. The unit will investigate and prosecute instances of ORC over which the Department of Justice has jurisdiction, assist state and local law enforcement agencies in investigating and prosecuting ORC, and advise victims of ORC. (Note: The terms ORC and ORT are used interchangeably. That’s a topic for another posting.)
The Attorney General would be required to submit a report containing recommendations on how retailers, online businesses, and law enforcement agencies can help prevent and combat organized retail crime to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee and post the report on the Department of Justice website.
And here’s one of my favorite elements: the bill would also authorize $5 million dollars per year for fiscal years 2011 through 2015 to fund the new ORTIP unit.
NRF – along with other retail trade associations – believes this bill is an important move forward. Creating a dedicated team of investigators and prosecutors at the highest level of our nation’s law enforcement structure is a good first step in putting organized retail crime perpetrators behind bars. Coupled with existing programs at the local, state and federal levels, this bill is one of the keys to protect both retailers and consumers against the massive economic costs and very real public health and safety risks posed by these crimes.
How far have we come? eBay also endorses the bill.
As many of you know, NRF and eBay formed a partnership earlier this year to tackle the growing problem of organized retail crime, provide greater intelligence sharing and support the investigative efforts of federal, state and local law enforcement working in partnership with LP professionals. Four months later, we have an open line of communication to eBay’s investigation’s team. They have been supporting and initiating cases involving ORC and the feedback from our retail members has been complimentary. There is still work to be done, but we’ve come a long way.
What happens next? The House Judiciary Committee will consider the bill and discuss the legislation, allow for amendments by members of the committee, then vote on the bill. Once it gets full committee approval it could then move to the House floor for a vote. The new and/or existing bill will go through the same process in the Senate.
To those of you who may not have been following NRF’s push for organized retail crime legislation for the last five years, here’s background: Retailers lose between $15 and $30 billion to ORC each year, according to the FBI and retail loss prevention experts. In addition, 89 percent of retailers reported that they were victims of organized retail crime in the past year, according to an annual NRF survey released earlier this year.
Organized retail crime rings typically target everyday consumer products that are in high demand and easy to steal such as infant formula, razor blades, batteries, analgesics, cosmetics and gift cards. More expensive products such as DVDs, CDs,video games, designer clothing and electronics are also highly prized. Once stolen, the goods are resold at pawn shops, flea markets, swap meets and the Internet. The thefts force retailers to increase prices to cover the losses, and threaten public health when crime rings tamper with items such as infant formula or medication by extending expiration dates or repackaging and relabeling the items.