Arkansas attorney general announces regional Organized Retail Crime alliance, cites multiple arrests

Arkansas Attorney General Griffin said his office has joined a multi-state Organized Retail Crime Alliance and has been conducting coordinated operations with federal and local partners that resulted in arrests in multiple Arkansas cities.

Griffin told attendees he was reporting progress since an announcement last year and emphasized follow-up: "We pay what I call organized retail crime tax," he said, arguing the cost of theft and insurance is passed on to consumers. He said Arkansas joined the Organized Retail Crime Alliance (ORCA) at the request of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and that the state is piloting a regional approach with Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

The initiative pairs state prosecutors and investigators with federal partners from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and private-sector retail investigators, Griffin said. He named Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Target, Lowe's and Home Depot as participating retailers and credited their sales-tracking data with helping investigations. Griffin introduced local law-enforcement partners present at the briefing, including representatives from North Little Rock Police, Conway Police and other agencies.

Griffin highlighted a prior operation in Blytheville tied to a January press release that involved multi-jurisdictional partners and resulted in nine arrests. He said the office carried out three operations in the last month: a North Little Rock operation on Aug. 15 (details and arrest lists are in the office’s press release), a Little Rock operation the following week that recovered a stolen vehicle and included narcotics charges, and a Sept. 12 operation in Conway that resulted in six arrests.

Griffin also announced that Gerald Harrelson has been assigned full time to organized retail crime in the attorney general’s office after the governor and legislature provided resources for the position. "If you say something's a priority but you only spend a fifth of your time on it, is it really a priority?" Griffin said, noting the significance of a dedicated agent.

HSI supervisory special agent Jeff Pryor said the alliance aims to replace a ‘‘disorganized’’ response with coordinated efforts that can escalate cases to federal prosecution when appropriate. Pryor said federal partners can take lessons learned from Arkansas across the region and cited plans for operations around large events, such as the Super Bowl, to protect property and support other enforcement priorities.

Griffin said the office will continue coordinated "blitz" operations with local and federal partners and will make arrest details available in press materials. No votes or policy adoptions were taken at the briefing; the announcement focused on law-enforcement activity, partnerships and operational results.