BRAINTREE MA Nov 8 2009 ledger.com
A push is on at the state and federal levels to curb organized retail crime, which is estimated to cost retailers billions.
Increasingly sophisticated rings of thieves who steal specific merchandise from stores and resell it everywhere from flea markets to Internet auction sites are a growing problem, according to lawmakers and law enforcement officials.
“I don’t think the problem can be overstated,” said U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, whose district encompasses the South Shore and Cape Cod. “This is not petty theft. This is not shoplifting.”
The congressman, who is co-sponsoring legislation at the federal level aimed at these rings, said such thefts total an estimated $30 billion a year.
A similar bill is pending in the state Legislature, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Driscoll, D-Braintree.
Delahunt and Driscoll both spoke at a news conference on the bills Monday outside the Braintree Police substation at the South Shore Plaza. Joining them were Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan and officials of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
Both bills would provide a legal definition of organized retail theft, increase penalties, and require Internet retail sites, flea market dealers and other second-hand retailers to keep records on how they acquired the goods they sell.
Driscoll hopes the state legislation, which was heard by the judiciary committee in July, can be acted on in time for the holiday shopping season.
He said the theft laws need to be changed because the organized rings “have adapted their activities to beat the laws that are in place.”
His bill would “put punishments in place that will fit the crime.”
Now, someone who takes over $250 in merchandise from a store can face a larceny charge that has a maximum penalty of 2½ years in jail, he said.
Driscoll’s bill calls stiffer penalties based on the amount of merchandise taken, and a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for being the leader of an organized retail theft ring.
The bills have the support of the state retailers association, whose 3,100 members range from chains to mom-and-pop stores.
Jon Hurst, president of the association, said the theft rings frequently operate across state lines, exploiting gaps in local laws. This leaves law enforcement unable to fully investigate and prosecute these crimes, he said.
Losses to retailers are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, he said.
And, some of the resold goods can pose a danger to the consumers. Items such as baby formula and over-the-counter medications are particularly popular items for the thieves, and are sometimes repackaged before they are sold. Hurst said the goods can be mishandled in the process and expiration dates changed, compromising their quality.
R.J. Gaites, an investigator for Target stores who heads the loss prevention committee of the retailers’ group, said the problem has been growing for the last four or five years.
When you begin to follow the trail from the person who steals merchandise from the store to the resellers, “you begin to realize how big this is,” he said.
Gaites said this activity continues year round and is not particularly tied in with the holiday shopping season.
“They never take a day off,” he said.
Braintree Deputy Police Chief Russell Jenkins said it is difficult to say how much of the losses from the mall are due to these rings.
While shoplifters can take a few hundred dollars in merchandise, these rings “can generate thousands of dollars in losses in a single trip to the South Shore Plaza,” Jenkins said.
Many of these rings come from out of state and can fill a hotel room with goods in a couple of days before moving on, he said.
Delahunt's bill will be heard Thursday by the subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security of the House Judiciary Committee.
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