Merchants focusing more on organized shoplifting rings

Aug 1, 2006 3:50 PM

           

Stores are worrying less about teens stealing CDs than about sophisticated criminals like Samih Fadl Jamal of Mesa, Ariz., the ring leader of a major organized theft operation that stole and resold millions of dollars of baby formula throughout the country.
Such highly sophisticated groups have been targeting retailers for several years, but merchants are just starting to come together to fight organized retail theft, developing crime databases and establishing crime squads, The Associated Press reports.
Organized theft costs the industry an estimated $30 billion annually and rising. Customers also pay a hefty price too. The National Retail Federation, the industry's largest trade group, estimates that shoppers pay almost 2 cents on every dollar they spend to cover the cost of retail theft.
The increased focus on this issue was underscored earlier in July, when news broke that Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, will no longer prosecute one-time thieves unless they are between ages 18 to 65 and steal at least $25 worth of merchandise, The AP reports.
Wal-Mart, which had a zero-tolerance policy, joins a number of retailers who are putting more of their energy into bigger shoplifting crimes.
"This is not an invitation to petty theft," says Sharon Weber, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman. "We are hard targets for crime and we intend to stay that way." In fact, Weber warned that the new policy is only a guideline for stores, and such thieves will still be detained and will be prosecuted if they refuse to show identification or are violent.
Unlike average shoplifters, who steal for themselves, those who are involved in organized crime steal the goods and resell them to flea markets, pawn shops or on the Internet. They typically focus on specific brands and products that carry a high resale value, are in constant demand and have a high profit margin. Among some of the coveted items are Enfamil baby formula, diabetic strips, over-the-counter brand name drugs like Tylenol and Advil, Gillette razors and jeans, including brands like Polo Ralph Lauren.
Both the NRF and the Retail Industry Leaders Association launched password-protected national crime data bases online, which let retailers share information about thefts to detect whether they've been a target of organized crime. In the past, merchants had never shared information, so rings could hit various stores in one area without being detected.
Meanwhile, retailers like Gap Inc., Sears Holdings Corp. and Wal-Mart -- all of which are participating in these data bases -- also have their own organized crime squads. They are also using more sophisticated cameras in their stores to detect suspicious activity, The AP reports.
For a long time, it was hard to detect such organized rings because stores had been secretive about giving out information about their incidents. Even now, stores remain anonymous in the database, which allows stores to see such details as how the crime was committed to what the criminals looked like. The identity of the merchant can be limited to location of the crime and the type of retailer. Stores can identify themselves when they send an e-mail to another retailer.
Many stores declined to talk about what specific measures they are adopting, but said that only by joining will they make a dent in the problem.

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