NCRMA Retail Crime Response
NCRMA was instrumental in working with legislators to draft and legislation and shepherding its passage of important new laws being passed (Senate Bill 409 in 2023 and House Bill 495 in 2024) which directly combat organized retail crime in North Carolina.
Key components of the new laws include increasing penalties for cargo theft; allowing for the seizure and forfeiture of property used in commission of a crime; creating a new offense for money laundering in North Carolina; updating definitions in the organized retail crime statutes to keep up with changing methods and technologies; and, ensuring North Carolina statute includes separate offenses for creating, affixing, or presenting a fraudulent price code.
Organized retail crime goes far beyond common shoplifting, bad checks and fake gift cards. It is the large-scale theft of retail product usually driven by a criminal enterprise employing a group of individuals who steal mass quantities of merchandise and then resell the merchandise to convert the stolen goods into cash. Organized rings are often involved in other crimes within the community, including narcotics, money laundering and human trafficking.
