What is CORCA?
Carolinas Organized Retail Crime Alliance
The Carolinas Organized Retail Crime Alliance (CORCA) is an alliance between law enforcement, retailers, and other important partners throughout the state, aimed at combating the rise of retail theft crime in North and South Carolina. This network of professionals will serve to protect and educate consumers, while acting as a resource to partnering law enforcement agencies and retailers in both states.
The Alliance is membership-based organization, offering memberships free of charge to the law enforcement community. The alliance is charged with creating awareness of Organized Retail Crime (ORC), tackling legislative agendas to better enforce organized retail crime activity, and offer a more cohesive form of communication through CORCA.org and networking opportunities. With a strong membership of law enforcement and retailers in North and South Carolina, the alliance will accomplish the following initiatives:
- Training/Education: Retailers and law enforcement officers alike have voiced a need for training and education programs focused on Organized Retail Crime. The Alliance will partner with various agencies and networks that can offer education in the Carolinas.Members Only.
- Networking: The Alliance will offer face-to-face networking opportunities via quarterly meetings, continuing education, training opportunities, and an annual conference.Members Only.
- Carolinas Organized Retail Crime Alliance Conference: CORCA will hold an annual conference in the fall of 2016. This will be an opportunity for law enforcement and retail loss prevention professionals to network, gain valuable education, and learn about important new products through loss prevention vendors. Member/Non-Member Pricing.
- Scholarships: CORCA’s goal is to offer law enforcement scholarships from conference revenues.
What is Organized Retail Crime?
Organized Retail Crime (ORC) is an organized effort by two or more persons to convert illegally obtained merchandise or cash into financial gain through theft or fraud. This usually involves the theft of multiple quantities of similar products or thefts from multiple stores, multiple jurisdictions or multiple states.
“Organized retail theft is a gateway crime that often leads us to major crime rings that use the illicit proceeds to fund other crimes-such as organized crime activities, health care fraud, money laundering, and potentially even terrorism.”
FBI Special Agent Eric Ives, Violent Crimes/Major Offenders Unit
“We must force ourselves to look beyond the surface of shoplifting and see organized retail crime for what it really is – a large, low risk, high profit criminal operation frequently run by very astute criminals who are taking advantage of our leniency, complacency, and lack of cooperative effort.”
Sheriff Grady Judd, Polk County, Florida September, 2008