Organized Retail Crime (ORC)

"Being a vendor is not a dirty word. You need to believe in your bones that what you're providing is critical to your customer's success."

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and ALTO US have recently announced they are teaming up to implement a retail risk management solution to battle ORC.

I want to challenge you to broaden your scope when it comes to rationalizations. Think through different topics and rationalizations that you would be willing to wear in public: things like "exhaustion," or "lack of control."

"Around the age of ten, I started selling software demo kits alongside my dad," said Longo. "He was a brilliant man, passionately building relationships with innovators in the early days of software development, including (name drop) Bill Gates."

According to a 2017 National Retail Federation survey, organized retail crime (ORC) is on the rise. That's useful information for corporate industry executives, but loss prevention professionals in stores—those who see loss prevention issues like ORC every day—are well aware of the problem.

One piece of good news for California prosecutors is AB1065, a bill that makes it easier to tackle organized retail crime (ORC). As of July 2018, the bill has moved through the legislature but needs a final push in the state senate to make it to the governor's desk.

It's amazing how witty we are when it's twenty seconds too late. But when we're in that room and people are uncomfortable, we need to anticipate both emphatic and explanatory denials, handle them properly, and return to rationalization.

"This year's conference promises to be our best ever," said Curt Crum, president of the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR). The national organization's ninth annual training event will take place October 8—11 at the Crown Reef Beach Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Law enforcement partnerships with the retail community can establish a foundation of mutual support. When agencies, retail investigators, and prosecutors make a sincere effort to share information in response to ORC concerns, they are more likely to resolve issues and make arrests that can halt theft operations.