Task force recommends monitoring Pennsylvania, New Jersey ORC law changes for Delaware retailers

State Sen. Brian Pounds, co-chair of the Organized Retail Crime Task Force, said the draft report would be circulated with proposed edits after members asked for targeted language additions.

Julie Wenger, of the Delaware Food Industry Council, urged the task force to expressly recommend that the state "closely monitor recent legislation enacted in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey related to organized retail theft," saying those changes "may impact or increase ORC activity in Delaware." The group agreed to draft and circulate precise wording for a findings bullet and a recommendation before the next meeting.

Task force members said they had referenced neighboring-state practice in the report but that an explicit monitoring recommendation could be added under findings and recommendations. Members and staff agreed to circulate a redline draft and allow written comments to determine whether the language would require further discussion at the final meeting.

Why it matters: Members said retailers along corridors bordering Pennsylvania and New Jersey have reported rising ORC activity, and neighboring-state statutory changes could shift criminal patterns across state lines. The monitoring recommendation is meant to give state agencies a clear policy stance to track cross-border impacts.

The task force asked staff to prepare the insertion and circulate it to members for review; chairs said a brief final session would be held to consider the redline and any remaining edits.