The holiday season is upon us again, and the Maricopa County Attorney's office is doubling down on its campaign for secure shopping practices — introducing "Safe Shopping II: The High Cost of a 'Good Deal,'" Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced an enhanced effort which builds on last year's successful initiative to educate consumers about the hidden costs behind ill-gotten bargains, a problem far wider in scope and impact than mere shoplifting.
Organized Retail Crime, or ORC, is sprouting roots deeper into the consumer market, and Maricopa County feels the brunt of it with millions in losses as these crimes scale up, stealing not just candies but swathes of inventory to sell elsewhere such as from the bed of a pickup, private homes or over various online marketplaces, Mitchell pinpointed a disquieting link between the act of purchasing these deceptively cheap items and the funding of odious activities like drug abuse, human trafficking, and money laundering in a statement obtained by Maricopa County Attorney's Office: "You’re paying for foreign nationals who make money off the pain of American citizens."
Since the establishment of the Organized Retail Crime Task Force in 2022, it has seen more than 600 ORC cases make it through the courts, convicting perpetrators and recovering a fortune in goods, with submitted ORC cases and convictions both ticking upwards — by nearly 25% and 46% respectively compared to last year, a testimony to the intensifying offensive against such criminal operations.
Mitchell's campaign also serves as a solemn reminder of the risks accompanying witness to such thefts; these are increasingly violent, and confronting a suspect could be dangerous the Attorney's office cautions and advises to prioritize one's safety by informing a store manager or calling the police, as stated on the Maricopa County official website. A point echoed by Michelle Ahlmer, Executive Director at the Arizona Retailers Association, in outlining the potential danger posed by a thief often high on drugs, possibly maneuvered by an unseen ORC operator.
As the shopping season revs up, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell concludes with a stark evaluation of the broader repercussions of ORC — including increased law enforcement and prosecution costs, store closures, and the eventual decline of community spaces; succinctly capturing the crux of this year's campaign: "A little bit of knowledge goes a long way toward preventing tremendous damage," according to Maricopa County official website.
