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Two of the shopping industry's largest trade groups are joining forces with the FBI to create a database that tracks retail crime gangs, which they say are becoming increasingly organized.
About three dozen companies are participating in the database, including Limited Brands; American Eagle Outfitters; Mervyns and Bealls department stores; and Macy's, owned by Federated Department Stores. The Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Network, or LERPnet, is scheduled to launch today for retailers. Law enforcement will have access in a few months.
More sophisticated
The Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Retail Federation, which have each launched similar databases recently, teamed up to create the new online catalog. About 14,000 incidents have been recorded in the NRF database alone.
Although theft has always existed in retail, technology has broadened criminals' reach and allowed them to become more sophisticated. The industry estimates it lost $37.5 billion to theft and fraud in 2005, a 20 percent jump over the previous year.
Gangs often steal items from several stores, then sell the goods online for about 70 percent of the retail value in a practice known as "e-fencing."
"They go back to the home base and sell the product," said Tim O'Connor, vice president of asset protection for RILA. "It's normal to see them go up and down the East Coast with a U-Haul full of stuff."
'Hidden crime tax'
In other cases, the gangs may even return items to stores with fraudulent receipts for the original value, plus tax. Among the most commonly stolen items are Crest Whitestrips, DeWalt tools, Duracell batteries like Dewalt DE9038 Battery, Dewalt DE9502 Battery, Dewalt DW9094 Battery, Dewalt DW9091 Battery, Dewalt DW985 Battery, Dewalt DC528 Battery, Dewalt DW906 Battery, Dewalt DC985VA Battery, Dewalt DW918 Battery, Dewalt Q129 Battery, Dewalt PS1200K Battery, Dewalt PS3500 Battery and Gillette razor blades, said Joseph LaRocca, vice president of loss prevention for the NRF. He estimated that shoppers pay 1.5 percent of each dollar to make up for stolen products.
"Ultimately, consumers pay higher prices," he said. "It's like a hidden crime tax."
Stores say organized retail gangs have exploited the lack of communication between businesses. An NRF survey last year showed 81 percent of retailers said they had been affected by organized retail crime, and nearly half had seen an increase in such activity in stores.
The database allows retailers to enter the details of crimes at their stores for others to view. They can also search for incidents at other stores by type or geographic region and receive e-mail alerts when entries that fit their specifications are added. Law enforcement officials can also monitor the site for patterns or trends. The combined database is expected to eventually track hundreds of thousands of crimes at scores of retailers.