Friday, September 20, 2024
LAKE WORTH — On Tuesday, Sept. 4, the Lake Worth Police Department hosted its third annual Organized Retail Crime Roundtable conversation to discuss the widespread problem of ORC within the Lake Worth area as well as to talk about preventative measures.
The Lake Worth police department invited retailers, city officials and anyone who has an interest in combating ORC to come to the roundtable. Some notable people who were in attendance were City Manager Stacey Almond, Lake Worth city council members, first responders and more. Representatives from Walmart, Target, Ulta, Home Depot, Flock Safety, Walgreens, CVS and more were in attendance.
Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian led the discussion about the rising numbers of ORC and how citizens, business owners and law enforcement can respond. Retail crime is the number one problem in Lake Worth, according to Manoushagian, so this topic gets the full attention of the department.
Manoushagian gave some history on why the ORC roundtable was created.
“The whole reason that we even started having ORC roundtables was because we saw an alarming trend out on the horizon,” Manoushagian said. “We saw it in 2022 and thought ‘Man if this continues, we’re going to blow previous years out of the water with theft.’ And so, we thought ‘we’re not going to wait for those numbers to come around, we’re going to start trying to bring people together and see what we can do to address these problems before it gets out of control.’”
Manoushagian gave everyone present a packet, created by the police department, to show statistics, research, proactive suggestions and solutions to hopefully reduce ORC.
The chief started the discussion by providing the mission statement of the Lake Worth Police Department: “To create a safe environment where life and commerce thrive.”
“Protecting you is our business,” Manoushagian said. “That is our approach to our retail partners.”
Manoushagian highlighted some remarkable statistics about ORC. According to the 2023 Retail Security Survey, violent shoplifting incidents have increased by more than one-third — 35%, in fact. The police chief noted that Lake Worth is thankfully not experiencing this, but it still happens.
Another statistic brought up is that back in 2023, Lake Worth made 164 theft arrests, but only two of those arrested lived in Lake Worth. Manoushagian explained that the Lake Worth area is a great place for criminals to exploit because of the multiple locations of the same retail stores.
Retailers gave their own feedback about ORC happening at their stores. A representative from Walmart said it is experiencing more theft around self-checkout areas. Walmart started a loss prevention program where someone is at the self-checkout areas to catch thieves.
Manoushagian did show some uplifting statistics. For example, Home Depot and Walmart have seen a 20% reduction of ORC in 2024. Kohls has seen a 10% decrease and Target has seen a 30% decrease in offences this year.
Lake Worth police plan to help reduce ORC even more with an increase in physical presence, increasing technology used to catch criminals and more. Flock Safety, a video surveillance system designed to recognize license plates and vehicle descriptions, sponsored breakfast for those attending the roundtable, and Walmart provided additional food and snacks.
