Delaware task force revises organized retail crime draft to clarify definitions and reporting burdens

The task force charged with drafting recommendations on organized retail crime in Delaware spent much of its meeting on whether the packet’s language accurately described the problem and what fixes the state should recommend.

Chair convening the meeting opened by reminding members the circulated document was a draft and that the group’s mandate under Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 12 includes assessing prevalence, prosecution and restitution, mental-health intersections and evidence-based programs. "We didn't receive many submissions ahead of time from members," the Chair said, urging a focused discussion on the packet and how to finalize the report.

A committee member pressed whether organized networks or many small incidents drive most retail losses. An agency official responded: "if you looked at it from an investigative lens, it's largely organized retail crime," adding that when law enforcement lacks resources many incidents are prosecuted as isolated petty thefts rather than aggregated into ORC cases.

The debate shifted to a contested line in the draft that read, in effect, that retailers "currently view reporting as burdensome." One member proposed removing that phrasing and replacing it with language that captures the broader problem. "It's the whole process [that is] burdensome for everyone, not just the stores, but also law enforcement, the courts," the member said, urging a new finding and a revised recommendation on improving reporting participation through chambers of commerce and industry groups.

Members said tweaks should also clarify jargon: replace ambiguous phrases such as "coordinated and large scale" with the legal term organized retail crime and add clearer definitional and data-collection guidance so analysts and readers understand what the task force means by ORC.

On enforcement capacity, participants said the central issue is resources to investigate and connect recurring incidents. Several members supported a recommendation to prioritize enforcement against organized networks and repeat offenders and to consider whether additional state investigatory units or funded prosecutors are warranted.

The Chair said staff would take the suggested edits and that "Wyatt, myself, and Representative Romer will huddle up" to circulate a revised draft before the next meeting so members could see the changes in advance. The task force scheduled a tentative follow-up in mid- to late-April to try to finalize the report.