NORRISTOWN — Attorney General Dave Sunday joined Philadelphia-area law enforcement and community partners to discuss Year One achievements of the Office of Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Unit, and how collaboration is resulting in arrests, prosecutions and recoveries of stolen goods.
The Organized Retail Crime Unit launched July 1, 2024, following Act 42 of 2023 and a new criminal statute that made retail theft of goods more than $50,000 a first-degree felony.
In its first year, the unit opened more than 65 investigations, charged more than 40 alleged thieves and recovered nearly $2 million in stolen goods.
The Organized Retail Crime Unit responds to high-dollar thefts, typically perpetrated by multiple thieves who manipulate gift cards and store return/exchange policies — or, in many cases, enter retail stores in packs and steal as many items as they can as quickly as possible.
“This unit is aggressively pursuing thieves who operate in packs, oftentimes terrorizing purely innocent store employees and shoppers,” Sunday said. “The perception that retail theft is a petty crime is outdated, as these crimes are violent in nature and designed to menace and frighten bystanders. With the help of our partners, we have made big strides in stopping these criminal enterprises, and sending a strong message to anyone thinking of committing these crimes.”