The "Combating Organized Retail Crime Act" aims to curb organized retail theft and supply chain crimes by amending Title 18 of the U.S. Code, establishing a coordination center, and enhancing law enforcement tools.
Charles "Chuck" Grassley
Senator
IA
The "Combating Organized Retail Crime Act" aims to reduce organized retail theft by amending Title 18 of the United States Code to include theft from interstate shipments, interstate transportation of stolen goods, and sale or receipt of stolen goods. It also establishes an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center to align federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal efforts to combat organized retail crime and organized supply chain crime. The center will coordinate law enforcement, share information, assist in investigations, track crime trends, and support training and technical assistance. This act seeks to provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to combat organized retail crime and enhance the coordination between different levels of government and the private sector.
New Bill Targets Organized Retail Crime: Lowers Federal Theft Threshold to $5K, Creates DHS Coordination Center
This proposed legislation, the "Combating Organized Retail Crime Act," takes aim at large-scale theft operations hitting retailers and supply chains. It lowers the dollar amount needed to trigger federal charges for moving stolen goods across state lines and sets up a new federal hub within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) specifically designed to coordinate the fight against these organized crime groups.
Going Federal: When $5,000 in Stolen Goods Crosses the Line
A major change here involves tweaking existing federal laws, specifically 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2315, which deal with transporting and selling stolen goods across state lines. Currently, federal involvement often requires a higher value of stolen items in a single instance. This bill lowers that bar significantly. If stolen goods worth an aggregate value of $5,000 or more are transported or sold across state lines over any 12-month period, it could become a federal case. This 'aggregation' means multiple smaller thefts by the same group could add up to meet the federal threshold.
The bill also broadens how stolen goods might cross state lines, adding language about using "any facility of interstate or foreign commerce." This could potentially include online marketplaces or payment processors used to sell stolen items, reflecting how these operations often work today. Think about a crew hitting multiple stores in different states over several months, then fencing the goods online – this law aims to make it easier for federal agencies to step in. Additionally, the bill updates related laws (18 U.S.C. § 982 on property forfeiture and 18 U.S.C. § 1956 on money laundering) to specifically include these offenses and methods like using gift cards to move illicit funds.
Meet the New Crime Fighters: Inside the DHS Coordination Center
Beyond changing the legal thresholds, the bill mandates the creation of an "Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center" within DHS, set to be established within 90 days of the bill's enactment. This Center isn't meant to replace state or local police, but to act as a central nervous system, coordinating efforts between federal agencies (like Homeland Security Investigations, FBI, Secret Service, Postal Inspectors), state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and private sector companies.
Its duties include sharing intelligence, helping with investigations that cross jurisdictional lines, tracking crime trends (with annual public reports), and supporting training. A key aspect is establishing a secure system for information sharing. Notably, the bill allows the Center's Director to share information that would normally be protected under 18 U.S.C. § 1905 (the Trade Secrets Act, protecting confidential business info) if deemed "operationally necessary." This broad authority raises potential questions about how business data shared for crime-fighting might be protected. The Center itself has a built-in expiration date, with its authority terminating 7 years after establishment.
So, What Does This Mean on the Ground?
For businesses plagued by organized theft rings, this bill offers the prospect of better federal backup and coordination. For law enforcement, it provides potentially stronger tools and a dedicated hub to tackle groups operating across multiple states. The goal stated in the bill is to target sophisticated, often multi-jurisdictional criminal organizations, not necessarily individual shoplifters.
However, lowering the federal threshold to an aggregate $5,000 over a year could potentially pull cases into the federal system that might otherwise be handled locally, depending on how broadly "organized" activity and "interstate commerce facility" use are interpreted. The expanded information sharing, particularly the exception for normally confidential business data under 18 U.S.C. § 1905, will likely be watched closely regarding privacy implications. The bill also requires federal agencies to evaluate how they can better support state and local law enforcement with grants and training to combat these crimes, acknowledging that the fight involves players at all levels.