Organizations in law enforcement and in the retail industry are asking Congress to advance bipartisan legislation combating organized retail crime as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.
The bipartisan bill, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, was filed as an amendment to the must-pass NDAA as part of a bipartisan package offered up by U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) to reduce crime. The crime bill was originally introduced by Grassley and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and would have established a multi-agency response to organized retail crime, creating a center task force in the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security to combat it.
The group, which included Amazon, The Home Depot, Ulta Beauty, American Eagle Outfitters, UPS and DHL, said the common sense proposal was supported by 47 bipartisan senators, and overwhelmingly passed in the house. The legislation has also gained support from leaders at the national and local levels including 38 state attorneys general, major law enforcement organizations and a coalition of more than 260 impacted businesses.
“Organized retail crime affects communities across the country and requires a coordinated response among law enforcement agencies at all levels of government,” the National Association of Attorneys General said in a statement. “Advancing CORCA will strengthen information sharing and collaboration among federal, state, local, Tribal and territorial partners and enhance efforts to bring organized criminal enterprises to justice.”
The legislation would also establish new tools to recover stolen good and to enhance coordination between retail industry representatives and law enforcement.
“The Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA) strongly supports efforts to combat organized retail and supply chain crime, and we appreciate the strong bipartisan support behind this legislation,” Megan Noland, executive director of the Major County Sheriffs of America, said. “By strengthening federal tools to investigate and prosecute organized criminal networks and improving coordination and information sharing across all levels of law enforcement, this bill is an important step toward addressing a growing public safety threat. We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to advance this important legislation.”