Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody hosted a press conference Tuesday and announced legislative efforts to help law enforcement and prosecutors take down retail theft rings.
Moody was reportedly working to ensure state laws were strong enough to punish those involved in organized retail theft, according to News 4 Jax:
The news conference comes ahead of Florida’s 2022 legislative session, which begins next week, and after Moody last month launched the Florida Organized Retail Crime Exchange — a task force and database that helps law enforcement, prosecutors and retailers work together to identify organized retail theft rings by allowing shareable, searchable information on theft incidents statewide.
In a press release on Tuesday, Moody’s office said, “Organized retail theft is on the rise nationwide, and Attorney General Moody is dedicated to ensuring Florida remains ahead of the trend to prevent retail crime waves.”
U.S. retailers added security and locked up merchandise following flash mob heists at luxury stores in San Francisco and beyond that area when the holiday shopping season began, AFP reported on November 24.
“Retailers around the country are taking notice and precautions against possible copycat hits as the sheer size of the robbery gangs and their ability to plan secretly have made them nearly impossible to halt,” the article read.
Moody’s office continued:
To help bolster the effectiveness of FORCE, the Florida Attorney General’s Office will partner with state legislators this session to seek to remove barriers to prosecution for what is clearly organized criminal activity. Upcoming legislation will provide a targeted revision to current statutes determining the felony status for retail theft when someone steals multiple items from multiple locations in a short period of time. These changes would strengthen the laws on the books to allow prosecutors to bring stronger penalties against criminals who commit crimes across the state to avoid justice.
The 2021 Retail Security Survey found that approximately 69 percent of retailers said they experienced an increase in organized retail crime in 2021, the News 4 Jax article said.