RILA supports strong action to combat organized retail crime (ORC), including tightening regulations for online auction sites and other entities that may serve as conduits for stolen goods, recognizing ORC as a federal felony offense and providing law enforcement the necessary funding to effectively deter and prosecute ORC. In addition, state governments should enact ORC legislation that would address felony theft levels.
Prior to the close of the 111th Congress, the House of Representatives passed legislation that was supported by RILA and other national trade associations, as a good first step to addressing ORC. Entering the new Congress, RILA led the effort among coalition partners to establish consensus priorities for Federal ORC legislation that included both investigative and preventative measures. The priorities agreed upon in that document were to serve as a unified stakeholder voice on Capitol Hill.
Following the creation of this document, RILA, and other stakeholders met with eBay to discuss legislation and determine whether a compromise could be reached, and if so, what that compromise would entail. These discussions are ongoing; however, eBay has stated that, in order to support any legislation, current bills would need to be extended to include all “Ecommerce Enablers,” defined as “a service accessible on the Internet that allows a business or person to promote the sale of goods or services, excluding payment processor services.”This definition would extend to Amazon, Google, Facebook, Craigslist and other Internet businesses, including brick-and-mortar retailers with an internet presence. The political make up of Congress, along with priority issues, such as budget and debt reduction, poses challenges for any legislation in the 112th Congress. While Members of Congress who have introduced legislation in the past remain interested in filing legislation again this Congress, to date, no ORC legislation has been introduced. RILA will continue to monitor relevant legislation proceeding through the committees of jurisdiction, as well as both chambers of Congress in order to add effective ORC provisions to a moving bill.
Support state legislation that would address ORC rings and create reasonable felony theft levels.
Working with member companies and trade association partners, RILA has taken the lead in advocating for federal legislation that would recognize ORC as a federal crime. The growth of ORC has clear interstate commerce relevance because criminals have increasingly sold these stolen goods online as well as transported the merchandise across state lines to avoid tougher criminal penalties.
The growth of the online marketplace has also given criminals an unfettered avenue to fence their goods to unwitting customers. The absence of face-to-face contact with buyers allows ORC gangs to sell the stolen merchandise at prices close to 70 cents on the dollar compared to the average 30 cents on the dollar a similar product would sell for at a flea market or pawn shop. Given the still largely unrestricted environment that the Internet provides, compared to other sources of income, e-fencing is a low-risk, high-reward venture for organized crime. Addressing these concerns and creating new federal and state laws will assist in making ORC a high-risk, low-profit crime.
For more information, please contact David Garriepy, director of government affairs at david.garriepy@rila.org, or Doug Thompson, vice president of government affairs at doug.thompson@rila.org.