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On June 13, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing titled “The Rise in Organized Retail Crime and the Threat to Public Safety” to examine the rise in organized retail crime that is causing businesses to close and endangering the public.
The subcommittee heard testimony from witnesses including Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach; Lorie Mohs, mother of Blake Mohs, an organized retail crime victim murdered at Home Depot; and John Milhiser, former U.S. Attorney, Central District of Illinois. Lawmakers and witnesses discussed the significant increase in organized retail crime (ORC) and its impact on communities and businesses.
In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chair Andy Biggs (R-AZ-5) noted that the rise of ORC has caused businesses to close and endangered the public, leaving consumers to cover the costs of lost products. Biggs also stated that ORC networks are becoming aware that they can avoid prosecution and incarceration if they stay below the felony threshold, enabling them to concentrate thefts in areas that have under-resourced or ineffective prosecutors.
Subcommittee Ranking Member Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) spoke to the need for a mechanism that allows law enforcement and prosecutors to obtain and disseminate data on ORC.
S. 140/H.R. 895, the bipartisan “Combating Organized Retail Crime Act,” was introduced earlier this year with the strong support and leadership of ICSC. This important legislation would enable the aggregation and prosecution of offenses across jurisdictional lines and redefine “facilities of interstate commerce” to include, among other unlawful tactics, use of cellular devices and interstate highways as a criminal offense.
In addition, the measure would create a “National Organized Retail Crime Center” within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide needed coordination with federal law enforcement on activities related to ORC, establish relationships with state and local law enforcement agencies, assist with investigations and replicate information sharing with private retail companies.
Enactment of S. 140/H.R. 895 is a top priority in ICSC’s federal advocacy agenda and attendees at the recent 2023 Federal Fly-in asked their members of Congress to cosponsor this important legislation.
To find out more about how you can help ICSC’s effort to pass legislation addressing ORC, please contact Abby Jagoda at ajagoda@icsc.com.