The New England Organized Retail Crime Alliance (NEORCA) recently hosted its third annual Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Symposium at the BJ’s Wholesale Club headquarters in Marlborough MA on October 15^th.  The event brought together close to 200 attendees consisting of retail asset protection personnel, law enforcement, prosecutors, investigators and solutions providers for a day of expert presentations, training, networking, and information-sharing aimed at identifying and dismantling the criminal networks behind organized retail crime (ORC).

NEORCA’s Board Chair, Ken Spurling of Sephora, kicked off the event with a welcome to attendees and an introduction of the thirteen members of the NEORCA Board.  A national and local perspective on the current state of the retail industry and retail crime trends was then provided by the National Retail Federation’s Vice President of Asset Protection & Retail Operations, David Johnston, and the Retailers Association of Massachusetts’ General Counsel, Ryan Kearney.

Building upon past success in establishing public private partnerships with state prosecutors, NEORCA invited Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan to share some insight as to the steps her office has taken to identify and prosecute retail crime, including the creation of an ORC task force and pursuing changes to the Massachusetts ORC statute to allow for more flexibility in bringing charges.  And to reinforce previously established partnerships, NEORCA also welcomed back Plymouth County District Attorney, and National District Attorneys Association President, Tim Cruz and Worcester County District Attorney, and Massachusetts District Attorneys Association President, Joseph Early, Jr. to share similar updates.

Attendees then received an in-depth overview from Queens County (NY) Assistant District Attorney Shanon LaCorte on how to identify, investigate, and prosecute suspected ORC rings.  LaCorte’s presentation, From Shelf to Sentence: The Power of Uniting Loss Prevention, Law Enforcement, and Prosecution to Crush ORC, provided practical tips and best practices for building strong criminal cases from start to finish while also emphasizing the importance of stakeholder collaboration throughout the entire process.

With interviews serving as a key source of information for ORC investigators, NEORCA invited retired FBI Special Agent and Founder of Pyxis Academy, Colton Seale to share his expertise in conducting science-based interviews and interrogations.  Seale’s Interview & Interrogation training program, developed initially for use by the FBI on High-Value Detainees, integrates scientific research into interrogation techniques.  Considered a gold standard across the United States Intelligence Community, Seale explained how these proven tactics may also be applied to loss prevention interrogations.  

Following a networking lunch, solution provider and event co-sponsor Flock Safety presented on their available technology-based solutions to ORC challenges.  Flock’s Strategic Account Executives Ed Hanlon and Shelby Folk also dispelled misconceptions voiced recently by the public and policy makers and measures being undertaken by the company to address their underlying concerns.

The event’s other co-sponsor, United to Safeguard Against Illicit Trade (USAIT), rounded out the day of expert presentations with spokesperson Alysa Erichs’ Threats, Tactics and Technology: The New Era of Cargo Theft which shined a light on the growing problem of large scale cargo theft and provided recommendations for identifying and protecting against such activity.

To close out the day NEORCA Board Member and New England State Police Information Network (NESPIN) representative Adam Berg summarized the functionality of the NEORCA information platform, its success in enhancing ORC investigations and generally covered the benefits of participation before renewing NEORCA’s open invitation for all attendees to consider becoming a part of the community.  And NEORCA Board Member, Jordan Parado, Loss Prevention Manager at Dick’s Sporting Goods shared his experience in coordinating an ORC Blitz operation with law enforcement in Boston as part of the National ORC Blitz Week in August. 

NEROCA leadership thanks event host BJ’s Wholesale Club, evet sponsors USA-IT, Flock Safety, Lowe’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, CVS Health, Auror, Ahold Delhaize, NESPIN and RAM for their generosity, and all of the expert speakers for sharing their subject matter knowledge and insights with attendees.

NEORCA Team Final:  NEORCA Board (L to R): Brian Guay (Walgreens), Justin Isak (Macy’s), Greg Dineen (Ahold-Delhaize), Keri Lebeau (Dartmouth PD), Carol Fitzgerald (MA State Police), Ken Spurling (Sephora), Ryan Kearney (RAM), Jordan Parado (Dick’s Sporting Goods), David Dennis (TJX), Adam Berg (NESPIN), Michael Peixoto (Lowes), Kevin Daly (Wocester PD)

NEORCA -Three DA’s (L to R): Ken Spurling (Sephora) Ryan Kearney (RAM), Tim Cruz (Plymouth DA), Marian Ryan (Middlesex DA), Joeseph Earley, Jr. (Worcester DA), Jordan Parado (Dick’s Sporting Goods), Adam Berg (NESPIN), David Johnston (National Retail Federation), Greg Dineen (Ahold-Delhaize).