Organized retail crime is a growing and widespread public safety and economic issue, affecting retailers, employees and communities across the country. What sets ORC apart from petty theft is its scale and sophistication: These are coordinated criminal operations that often cross city, state and even national borders.
Retailers and local law enforcement are doing what they can, but the threat outpaces current capabilities and resources. That’s why the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act remains a top federal priority. This bipartisan bill would establish the Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center under the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate real-time data sharing and joint investigations between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies
Organized retail crime is on the rise. Join us and tell Congress to act now.
States remain committed to stopping organized retail crime. In 2025 alone, nine states have enacted their own ORC legislation, and 31 states have considered a total of 74 bills related to ORC. These efforts underscore the urgency of the crisis — and they also highlight the limits of what states can do on their own.
These crimes aren’t confined by state lines. When criminal networks operate across state lines or overseas, a patchwork of state laws simply can’t keep up. What we need now is a unified national response.
Federal leadership is the missing piece. This spring, NRF brought two dozen retail loss prevention professionals to Washington, D.C., to meet directly with lawmakers to make the case for CORCA. In every conversation, we’ve emphasized that ORC is not a localized issue; rather, it is one fueled by cross-jurisdictional and transnational criminal groups that overwhelm state and local law enforcement.
These local and state agencies are stretched thin and often lack the tools or authority to pursue bad actors beyond their borders. That’s why federal coordination is essential to identify, investigate, disrupt and dismantle the networks driving these crimes.
CORCA provides that framework. It would strengthen national data collection, improve intelligence sharing, support joint investigations and help target high-level offenders. It also empowers retailers as active partners in the solution.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan joined the Retail Gets Real podcast to discuss the fight against organized retail crime. Listen to the episode.
We’re encouraged by the growing bipartisan momentum behind this bill: The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act now has 85 co-sponsors in the House and 23 in the Senate, with more support building each week. The National Retail Federation deeply appreciates the lawmakers who are stepping up to protect communities nationwide, and we’ll continue to advocate until this legislation becomes law.
Organized retail crime is a national threat, and it deserves a national response. With CORCA, we have a solution ready to meet the moment.
If you care about protecting businesses, workers and communities from organized crime, help us push CORCA over the finish line. Contact your representatives and join the movement to combat organized retail crime.
