Organized retail crime is soaring

Organized retail theft is way up in Fairfax County, says MPO Howard Mergler of the Fairfax County Police Department’s Tysons Urban Team.

The Tysons Urban Team deals with shoplifting, missing persons, and mental health crises, but spends most of its energy on organized retail crime (ORC) at the Tysons shopping malls, Mergler said during a meeting of the Mason Police Station’s Community Advisory Committee.

In 2022, the team recovered over $930,000 in stolen merchandise, Mergler said. So far in 2023, they recovered over $530,000 in stolen merchandise. That compares to just $4 million in the previous 10 years.

Mergler says ORC involves a group of people engaged in illegally obtaining substantial quantities of merchandise for reselling. These crime rings generally consist of boosters who steal things and fencers who sell them.

ORC is an umbrella term that covers theft, receipt fraud, gift card fraud, credit card fraud, and the switching of price tags on items. for sale.

ORC is soaring across the nation. In 2021, retail theft increased by 26 percent from the previous year. In 2022, losses from retail theft were estimated at $94 billion. That is projected to rise to over $100 billion in 2023, Mergler says.

States lose nearly $15 billion a year in tax revenue. and retailers often raise prices to offset theft, so these crimes affect everyone.  

In Virginia, retail theft amounts to about $1.3 billion a year and $80 million in lost tax revenue.

Merchandise most often stolen includes clothing, grocery items, infant formula, diapers, cigarettes, designer brands, denim, and handbags. Stolen items often appear on Amazon Marketplace and eBay for half price.

Mergler urges the public not to buy stolen items as the proceeds sometimes support terrorist organizations. Also, buying stolen formula poses a health risk, as it probably hasn’t been kept cold.

Stores are also seeing greater aggression and violence by ORC rings, he says. According to statistics he shared at the meeting, eight out of 10 retailers report increased violence, three in five retail employees witnessed an incident of workplace violence. over 90 percent said the threat of violence increased over the last five years, and over 55 percent said violence has significantly increased. 

ORC groups usually have three or more people, Mergler says. The driver hands out fake IDs to the thieves and stays with the vehicle.

One car caught by the Tysons Urban Team had an ID printer, about 80 fake IDs, and about $40,000 worth of merchandise and gift cards.  

Mergler described different types of ORC:

• Some groups focus on stealing credit cards and cash from gym lockers. They have IDs with no name and add the name from a stolen credit card.

• People who steal items from parked cars often focus on parks and recreation centers and look under the seat for a wallet or purse.

• Pickpockets target victims at restaurants and stores, looking for people with easily accessible bags and purses hanging from the back of a chair. One partner distracts the server while another lifts a wallet out of a handbag.

• A shoplifter sometimes has pouches under their skirt that they fill up with clothing while their partner shields them from employees and cameras.

Mergler attributes the rise in retail theft to several causes: Stores experiencing slow sales are laying off security staff. There’s a shortage of retail workers. And even if a security guard sees a theft, many retailers prohibit them from physically intervening.

In Virginia, the law was changed not too long ago so that a person must steal at least $1,000 to be charged with a felony. A previous law that required a person convicted of petit larceny to be charged with a felony for the third offense has been repealed.

A new law that takes effect July 1 makes organized retail crime a Class 3 felony. However, the suspect must have stolen over $5,000 worth of items over a 90-day period, the items must have been turned over to a fence, and it must be shown that the suspect was stealing for profit.

Mergler declined to comment – citing an ongoing investigation – on the incident in February in which a member of the Tysons Urban Team fatally shot Timothy Johnson, an unarmed shoplifter, outside Tysons Corner Center.

Also at the CAC meeting, Lt. Richard Buisch was honored as the 2022 Officer of the Year. His leadership led to multiple arrests, he served as a mentor to new officers, and oversaw the Gary Clause event to bring holiday joy to underserved Mason District kids. The CAC and the Bailey’s Crossroads Rotary Club presented Buisch with gift cards.