Retail Crime Targeted at Los Angeles Police Conference
Taking action against gangs stealing cargo and store merchandise was at the top of the agenda for Los Angeles’ law enforcement establishment on Feb. 17.
More than 600 police officers and retailers gathered at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the first “Organized Retail Crimes Conference.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley and Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca gave introductory remarks at the event, which was organized by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Area Organized Retail Crimes Association, an organization of law enforcement and retailers founded in 2009.
The conference was for law enforcement and retailers to share intelligence and examine local trends in organized retail crimes. According to keynote speaker Joe LaRocca, senior asset-protection adviser for the National Retail Federation, a retail trade group in Washington, D.C., Southern California represents a gold mine for gangs of thieves stealing cargo and store merchandise.
The area offers a lot of targets for thieves. It is home to the largest ports in America and some of the world’s best-known luxury shopping areas. It offers easy transport to sell stolen goods in Latin America and other parts of the United States, LaRocca said.
The conference’s seminars and talks were closed to the public. However, LaRocca said some of the main themes of the day were battling crimes that use the Internet and technology to steal.
Other trends are more low-tech. Thieves using bags lined with foil and duct tape have jammed store alarm signals when shoplifting. Some crooks are creating near-perfect forgeries of store receipts in order to return stolen goods. “We’re finding real forward-thinking strategy among criminal groups. That’s new,” LaRocca said.
Organized retail crime hits almost every shop owner, according to the fifth annual Organized Retail Crime survey, which was released by the NRF in June. Ninety-two percent of retailers surveyed reported being victims of an organized gang of thieves.—Andrew Asch
