Each year organized groups of professional shoplifters steal or fraudulently obtain billions of dollars in merchandise to resell in an activity known as ORC. These stolen goods can also be sold on online marketplaces, a practice known as "e-fencing." This report assessed ORC and e-fencing. It addresses: (1) types of efforts that select retailers, state and local law enforcement, and federal agencies are undertaking to combat ORC; (2) the extent to which tools or mechanisms exist to facilitate collaboration and info. sharing among these ORC stakeholders; and (3) steps that online marketplaces have taken to combat ORC and e-fencing, and additional actions retailers and law enforcement think may enhance these efforts. Illus. This is a print on demand report.

This report provides an overview of organized retail crime rings, their operations, and goods targeted. It then examines the domestic impact of organized retail crime (ORC) in the arenas of the economy, public health and safety, and domestic security. The report also outlines current efforts by retailers, resale markets, and the federal government to combat ORC. It then analyzes various policy issues that the 111th Congress may wish to consider, including whether current federal resources provided for the investigation of ORC are adequate, whether to amend the U.S. Code to criminalize ORC, and whether to regulate resale marketplaces that may be utilized as fences for criminals to sell stolen goods.

Organised retail crime (ORC), also known as organised retail theft, typically refers to large-scale retail theft and fraud by organised groups of professional shoplifters or "boosters." The organised crime rings resell this illegally acquired merchandise via a variety of "fencing" operations such as flea markets, swap meets, pawn shops, and online marketplaces. These goods are sold to both individual buyers as well as retailers. This book provides an overview of organised retail crime rings, their operations, and goods targeted, and examines the domestic impact of ORC in the arenas of the economy, public health and safety, and domestic security. This book also outlines current efforts by retailers, resale markets and the federal government to combat ORC.