Organized retail crime

Four masked men march in a line through a Home Depot store in New York this year. Two appear menacing bodyguards, while the two others confidently push carts stacked with boxes of high-value items out the door. Home Depot executives say the New York-area crew is part of a growing threat across North America: organized retail crime. ORC is where groups of criminals steal prized items to sell online or elsewhere. ORC has reached unprecedented levels, sparking deadly violence at some stores. The risk is low and the payoff high. The Home Depot investigated 400 cases of organized retail theft in the past year and that is increasing in double digits. Retailers across the US reported a 26% jump in organized retail crime between 2000 and 2021, amounting to tens of billions.