Additions and Amendments to Organized Retail Theft Laws

The North Carolina General Assembly recently passed S.L. 2022-30 (S 766) which increases the penalties for organized retail theft, provides additional penalties for damage to property or assault of a person during the commission of organized retail theft, and clarifies the procedure for the return of seized property to the lawful owner. The new criminal provisions go into effect on December 1, 2022 and apply to offenses committed on or after that date. What is Organized Retail Theft? Organized retail crime typically refers to large-scale retail theft and fraud by organized groups. The primary objective of these professional crime rings is to steal retail products from retail organizations for financial gain rather than for personal use. Criminals can commit organized retail theft in several different ways. One common method is a flash robbery (otherwise known as a smash and grab attack). During a flash robbery, a group of people meet at a planned location, grab as much merchandise as possible, and flee the scene. Another common method is return fraud. This method can involve: (1) using stolen receipts to return merchandise for profit; (2) replacing original labels with higher-priced labels and returning merchandise for a profit; or (3) shoplifting an item and returning it for profit. Some perpetrators also engage in cargo theft, stealing merchandise during its journey to the retail destination. This can be accomplished by: (1) criminals presenting themselves as drivers with counterfeit paperwork and driving off with loaded vehicles; (2) stopping and robbing a loaded truck during transit; (3) ambushing [...]