(NewsNation) — Cartels continue to grow their reach across the United States and have been pegged as a force behind organized retail crime.
State leaders are taking matters into their own hands. They are teaming up with the Department of Homeland Security to launch a multi-state collaboration called the Organized Retail Crime Alliance.
The new partnership involves Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as federal agencies and members of the retail industry such as Walgreens and Home Depot. The goal is to raise awareness and dissolve criminal organizations involved in what officials are calling “cargo theft” and fraud.
“We’re not talking about a 15-year-old who grabs a piece of gum,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said.
Arkansas, where Walmart is based, is one of four joining the initiative. Griffin says he’s not going to tolerate retail crime anymore.
“Arkansas is a leader in retail,” he said. “We have the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, here. We also have Dillard’s, which is a really large retailer. It is well known and has a major impact and footprint.”
Organized retail crime is a $70 billion enterprise, according to New Orleans Homeland Security Investigations— up 50% since 2015.
Some groups carrying out the acts are being led by the cartel. It’s not a new phenomenon, but the alliance was created to combat the growing problem. According to the National Retail Federation, organized retail crime incidents increased by 26.5% on average from 2022 to 2021.
HSI says some of the organized retail crime schemes involve migrants who are forced to steal in order to pay back human smugglers.
“The people that are engaged in this are doing all sorts of other illicit stuff in our communities,” Griffin said. “The retail part of it helps fund some of their other activities.”
Customers will feel it when they go to check out at stores that have been hit hard by organized retail crime, he added.
“There are several facets to this problem,” he said. “First of all there’s the economic aspect… Who pays for it? We do. We pay for it. We pay for it in higher prices, it’s like a tax. It’s like an organized, retail crime tax.”
Lawmakers addressed the rise in organized retail crime in January.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley introduced a bill establishing a center to combat organized retail crime within HSI that would focus on investigating and prosecuting criminals. It also would help to recover lost goods and proceeds. The bill immediately moved to the judiciary but has seen no movement since.
“You either have a culture that puts up with criminal activity or you don’t, and we have seen across the country numerous instances where mislead, misguided prosecutors and other elected officials have tried to draw this line and say well, we’ll tolerate this but we won’t tolerate that,” Griffin said. “That is the worst approach. We should not be tolerating any of this stuff.”