Police departments around the country launched a crackdown on the post-pandemic scourge of organized retail theft — making more than 400 arrests, law enforcement officials told The Post on Wednesday.
The coordinated nationwide blitz included help from major chains — including Home Depot, Walgreens, Ulta Beauty, Target, Meijer, Kroger and lululemon — that have seen their bottom lines squeezed by the rampant lawlessness.
The clampdown, conducted last week, spanned 28 states and was led by the organized crime task force in Illinois’ Cook County, with support from the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National District Attorneys Association.
“This coordinated crackdown is one of the largest and most visible efforts we’ve seen to date in combating organized retail crime and it’s long overdue,” said Gene Petrino, a retired SWAT commander and owner of Survival Response, which helps companies train employees to deal with workplace violence.
“These crimes aren’t just petty theft – they’re highly structured operations that fund broader criminal activity, and they’ve had a devastating impact on retailers, employees and consumers across the country.”
In one such incident, a California mother-of-three, Michelle Mack, ran a crime ring dubbed “California Girls” that looted an estimated $8 million worth of cosmetics and beauty products from Ulta and Sephora stores. She was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $3 million in restitution.
The organized thefts forced many drugstores to lock away basic staples, which led to a drop in sales as frustrated customers were turned off by the anti-theft tactics.
These crime rings are “one of the most significant challenges in our industry,” Marty Maloney, Walgreens’ director of media relations, told The Post.
The chain worked with law enforcement partners at more than 40 locations across 20 cities last week, Maloney said.
Ulta had teams stationed across nine states, passing along information on theft incidents to law enforcement officials.
Retail crime rings – which involve more than one person targeting specific stores and then hawking the stolen goods – have emerged as a growing threat over the past few years.
While it’s difficult to track organized retail crime specifically, retailers reported 93% more shoplifting incidents on average in 2023 compared with 2019, according to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation.
Those surveyed also reported a 90% jump in related dollar losses over the same period.
The goal of the nationwide operation is “to have one day where we focus and concentrate on [retail theft] and we share intelligence about it – about what we learned about the network, so that gives us more tools on how to take this network down,” Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke told CNBC, which earlier reported on the police blitz.
On her first day in office, O’Neil Burke ordered prosecutors to pursue felony charges when the value of the stolen goods exceeds $300 – a sharp change from the prior rules of only pursuing thefts above $1,000 or suspects with 10 or more prior convictions.
Since Dec. 1, her office has filed charges in 1,450 felony retail theft cases, according to CNBC.
“While this nationwide action is a strong step in the right direction, enforcement alone isn’t enough,” Petrino told The Post.
He stressed that law officials need to better collaborate with retail loss prevention teams and put in place stronger penalties for repeat offenders.
Retailers, meanwhile, should invest in improved surveillance, staff training and data analytics, Petrino added.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
