Lawmakers passing legislation to reduce retail organized crime

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Retail owners have expressed concerns to Maryland lawmakers about organized retail theft that they say is going unpunished. State Senator Ron Watson is sponsoring SB 100.

The legislation aims to combine multiple individuals working together to steal, as one offending group. The idea is to reduce the repeat offenders who are using the law to their advantage, say lawmakers.

Sen. Watson says he saw video footage from several stores, showing suspects using calculators to determine how much merchandise they can steal before reaching a felony offense.

The bill would also include the damage caused during smash and grab thefts, with the price of the stolen merchandise, for felony offenses of theft over $1,000.

“When there are a group of folks that work together in tandem to go and steal from our retailers, the arrogate amount of what they steal, if it hits $1,500 or above, everyone involved gets charged with felony theft,” Sen. Watson said.

Retailers are also asking for an amendment to the legislation to allow tying theft charges across state lines; they say some organized theft operations are stealing from store in different counties to avoid the felony theft charge.