Organized retail crime wave must be stopped

Thieves are striking retail stores across the nation and selling stolen goods online. One congressional bill would try to rein in those illegal operations.

Former sheriff A.J. Louderback is a 43-year law enforcement veteran who served five terms as sheriff of Jackson County, Texas. 

It’s bad for businesses everywhere, but it is especially pervasive in the Lone Star state. So much so that the National Retail Federation named Houston one of the top 10 cities impacted by organized retail crime in 2021. In just one instance at the height of the pandemic, Houston police uncovered more than $1 million worth of stolen merchandise stored from floor to ceiling in one resident’s single-family home alone.   

Even more disturbing is that our problem is spanning state lines. An Illinois man was recently found guilty of operating a $20 million crime ring that stole goods from a number of Texas retail stores and fenced them online through e-commerce platforms to generate more than $11 million in profit. Crossing Texas’ border with illicit items and selling them online meant that Homeland Security Investigations Dallas had to join forces with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Illinois’ Arlington Heights Police Department to close this case.