Retail Crime

Amid rising retail theft and violence driven by legal, social, and economic shifts, retailers and security professionals must adapt strategies, collaborate across sectors, and advocate for reform to restore safety and accountability in retail environments.

Retailers face rising teen-driven disruptions fueled by social media, prompting calls for stronger security, community partnerships, and balanced policies.

Despite official crime stats suggesting retail theft is down, new research shows it's actually rising—underreporting, shifting policies, and strained police resources are masking the true scale of the problem and fueling a misleading public narrative.

Strategic cargo theft is a growing, global threat exploiting supply chain vulnerabilities, demanding stronger collaboration and updated protections.

The adaptive, predictive, and networked behavior of dragonflies offers a striking parallel to how organized retail crime groups assess risk, communicate, and evolve—especially through tools like social media—to exploit weaknesses in retail systems.

Celebrating its 25th year, the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) continues its mission to advance evidence-based retail crime prevention through collaboration, innovation, and rigorous research—growing from a bold idea in 2000 into a global leader in loss prevention strategy.

Amid high rates of property crime, police staffing challenges, a fentanyl crisis, and widespread social instability, Albuquerque has emerged as an unexpected hotspot for retail theft, prompting retailers and law enforcement to push for reforms, partnerships, and tougher enforcement to turn the tide.

Retailers are turning to objective crime risk data to strategically allocate security budgets, reduce waste, and safeguard assets more effectively amid economic uncertainty.

After a five-year break, the 2025 MI ORCA Conference returned with renewed energy, uniting law enforcement, prosecutors, and retail professionals to share strategies, highlight successes, and strengthen partnerships in the fight against ORC across Michigan and beyond.

Is retail theft up, or is it down? Is the problem as rampant as many retailers claim it to be, or are the claims of devastating losses, organized retail crime, violent confrontations, and their impact on store safety and retail profits over-exaggerated in an attempt to cover poor performance and corporate mismanagement?