When 41-year-old William Allen allegedly shot Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Eric Rosenbaum two weeks ago, Allen was already being investigated for multiple thefts at retail stores in at least two counties. Investigators believe Allen, who already had criminal history in four states, was making money through organized retail crime, or ORC. “When you are stealing product and making profit,” said Lowe’s Regional Security Director, Matt Thompson.
Thompson oversees security and asset protection at 36 Lowe’s stores in Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. He says Allen’s case illustrates how violence can result from organized retail crime, which has been increasing in Indianapolis for the last several years.
You also should be concerned about the public safety aspect of it,” Thompson said. “There’ve been several customers as well as employees injured in these incidents.”
Thompson is also the president of the Indiana Retail Organized Crime Coalition, or IROCC. He says ORC cases can involve groups of dozens of theft suspects working together, or individuals planning to steal and resell merchandise for profit. The increased prevalence of online secondary sales is helping to drive a steady increase in the crimes, he says… Fox59 News
