AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Texas lawmakers on Thursday considered new ways to combat retail theft, a growing and often organized, destructive threat facing stores across Texas.
Law enforcement experts described the trend as a “crisis,” claiming current laws are inadequate to prosecute and deter the crime.
“The escalation of organized retail crime, organized cargo theft, and attacks on our entire supply chain” are “threatening our economy as a state and the stability of our communities,” Chief Special Agent for BNSF Railway Police Department Will Johnson testified.
Texas codified specific penalties for organized retail theft back in 2007 when the crime cost businesses an estimated $2.5 billion — but since then, the crime has only become more popular. In 2022, Capitol One reported Texas retailers lost $5.9 billion — far more, even after accounting for inflation.
Houston has the third-most retail crime in the nation, behind Los Angeles and San Francisco, the National Retail Federation reported.