Republicans urge Attorney General to crackdown on retail crime

Linking retail crime to organized crime and denouncing it as exploding across American cities, 16 Republican representatives wrote to United States Attorney General Merrick Garland this week, demanding a national strategy and fight against both.

“One of the essential functions of our government is to provide security to all citizens,” U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (CO), one of the letter’s co-signers, said separately. “Yet despite the continued increase in retail crime, the DOJ has turned a blind eye and refused to act. I urge Attorney General Garland to develop a strategy to reduce retail crime, maintain the rule of law, and protect our civil liberties.”

The lawmakers cited news reports that retailers have faced around $45 billion in annual losses, despite efforts from state and local authorities. Likewise, last year, a National Retail Federation (NRF) survey determined that 65 percent of respondents indicated that theft was coming more from gangs, who were consequently showcasing more violence and aggression than in previous years. Still, that same report also noted that 18 percent of respondents saw the opposite: a reduction in threats from a year earlier. Further, a third of respondents said that employee theft was down, with similar figures reported for shoplifting.

The report did not note how many were surveyed for its assessment.

Nevertheless, the lawmakers’ letter also pointed to the rise of online commerce platforms as a major driver of modern theft, causing multijurisdictional hassles that often cross state lines and causing a unique challenge for local authorities.

“Building on other Members drawing attention to this issue and the success of Operation Booster Buster, I urge the Justice Department to take action and develop a national strategy to address the alarming rise in organized retail crime,” the lawmakers wrote.

Operation Booster Buster was a joint sting effort from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office, Tulsa Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and IRS Criminal Investigation, targeting retail theft.

Co-signers on the bill to the Attorney General included U.S. Reps. Steve Chabot (OH), Mike Johnson (LA), Ted Budd (NC), Scott Fitzgerald (WI), Tom Tiffany (WI), Greg Steube (FL), Rick Crawford (AR), Young Kim (CA), William Timmons (SC), Burgess Owens (UT-), John Katko (NY), Rodney Davis (IL), Peter Meijer (MI), Andrew Garbarino (NY) and Lee Zeldin (NY).