A new bill targets the leaders of criminal enterprises that are jeopardizing the food retailing business while protecting employees and shoppers. (Kevin Hardy/Stateline)
By Nelson Eusebio
It’s been said: When big business catches a cold, small business catches the flu.
Likely the greatest example is the disturbing trend of organized retail crime. For small, independent food retailers that I represent, every shoplifted item has a direct impact on business and the workforce. And when a small business is a victim of organized retail theft, when numerous items are stolen from a store within seconds, it could mean an entire day of hard work vanished.
Imagine if you left for work in the morning, put in a full day of productivity at the business you own, and then left without a nickel because of chronic theft. That’s the risk that small food retailers in New Jersey face every single day in an effort to earn an honest living, take care of their families, and help support the neighborhoods where their stores are located.
With the recent recognition of Fight Retail Crime Day — an annual event that mobilizes the entire retail business community to advocate for effective solutions – we are relieved to learn that New Jersey lawmakers are getting serious about this issue.
The state Assembly is now debating a comprehensive bill recently introduced to combat organized retail crime and give small retail businesses a fighting chance to survive. The threat is so significant, voters in California just passed more stringent organized retail crime laws and New Jersey lawmakers should too.
Attention to this issue is desperately needed. According to the National Retail Federation, more than two-thirds of respondents in 2023 say they experienced an increase in violence and aggression from organized retail crime perpetrators compared with 2022.
On Thursday, the Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee is scheduled to consider A-4755, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Assembly members Joe Danielson, Alex Sauickie, and Heather Simmons.
The bill targets the leaders of criminal enterprises that are jeopardizing the food retailing business while protecting employees and shoppers.
Food retailers are pleased to learn the New Jersey Food Council has been working with legislators and a coalition of other proactive business associations to strongly advocate for this bill. That’s because it addresses many direct threats to the livelihood of small grocers, as professional theft rings continue to steal laundry detergent, over-the-counter medication, baby formula, energy drinks, razors, teeth whitening strips, deodorant, and other in-demand items from stores.
The bill would create the crime of aggravated assault of a retail worker, give prosecutors the option to request enhanced sentencing for persistent offenders, provide a one-year look-back period for the aggregation of the value of the amount of stolen goods to determine the grade of the crime, and increase the penalty for tax evasion in connection with being a leader of an organized retail crime enterprise.
Moreover, state lawmakers are being asked to upgrade the crime of leader of an organized retail theft enterprise, create the offense of fostering the sale of stolen property, and establish a unit or other office in the state Department of Law and Public Safety to investigate and prosecute cases concerning retail theft and combat gift card fraud.
Yes, this legislation is strong and sweeping. But, just like California voters, New Jersey needs to take a defiant stance and recognize that organized retail crime is not just petty shoplifting from the neighborhood grocer. We are trying to fight a behemoth operation of professional thieves that are methodically moving from one town to another in New Jersey, and across state lines, stealing merchandise off shelves and reselling them in the gray marketplace.
It’s just not California. Other states, such as New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Illinois, have already taken critical steps to combat organized retail crime. And, because of this effective crackdown in neighboring states, New Jersey retailers are seeing a large increase in these crimes here. Professional thieves still see New Jersey as an “opportunity” for organized retail crime enterprises; this is unacceptable. Enough is enough.
We join in this effort to fight to protect small businesses, as well as store employees and shoppers who depend on affordable, quality products that can be purchased safely and confidently. Together, it is our hope that we can drastically reduce the amount of organized retail theft that has become an epidemic in New Jersey.
Nelson Eusebio is government affairs director of the National Supermarket Association, representing independent grocers in New Jersey.