Our Retail Members have had to deal with increased physical violence and verbal assault. Please support Legislation to Combat Organized Retail Crime Ahead of New Jersey Senate & Assembly Voting Sessions. Please share the QR code on the flyer, or this link , with your communities, customers, associates, Executive teams, friends and family. Encourage them to use the page to submit a form letter of support to their state legislators.
Additionally, please call the legislators who represent your stores to relay your strong support and explain the beneficial impact that this bill would have on your business. Using this link, you can find your legislators and their contact information based on your address.
In your outreach, we encourage you to share how ORC has impacted your business, your employees and your customers. Additionally, below are some talking points you can use in your calls.
· Thank you for the opportunity to convey my company’s strong support of A-4755/S-3587 to combat Organized Retail Crime in New Jersey.
· ORC is not petty shoplifting. It is an illegal professional theft enterprise that moves quickly from community to community and across state lines to obtain large amounts of products that are fenced and sold back into the gray marketplace.
· Target items in high demand by these professional theft rings include laundry detergent, over-the-counter medication, baby formula, energy drinks, razors, teeth whitening strips and deodorant.
· Consumers are at a higher risk when ORC gangs steal consumable products because these items are often repackaged, have their expiration dates altered, are tampered with, or have been kept in compromised storage conditions, which affects the integrity of the product and poses health and safety issues for people who buy them secondhand.
· Our store associates have had to deal with increased physical violence and verbal assault. 23% of surveyed retail workers report verbal assaults, while 14% have faced physical violence.
· Gift card fraud also puts New Jerseyans at risk. It has been linked to organized crime groups who, according to the United States Department of Homeland Security (Homeland Security), are using illicit funds obtained through gift card fraud to support fentanyl production and smuggling as well as human trafficking.
· Other states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and California have already taken critical steps and implemented new measures to combat Organized Retail Crime. NJ retailers are seeing a large increase in these crimes now that neighboring states have increased their penalties.
· Organized retail crime in New Jersey affects everyone. We urge all our lawmakers to join in this fight to protect the stores, store employees and shoppers.