Committee consists of nationally recognized experts in ORC from the law enforcement and retail community
Orlando, (February 28, 2022) – The Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR) announced today the formation of a National Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Committee consisting of nationally recognized experts in ORC from the law enforcement and retail community.
The announcement comes at a critical time for the industry. During the holiday season, we saw “flash mobs” and smash & grab thefts impact retailers all over the country. According to the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) as much as $68.9 billion worth of products were stolen from retailers in 2019. In addition to the financial ramifications, ORC is impacting the health and safety of frontline retail employees. A recent survey of RILA members found that Over 86 percent of frontline loss prevention staff were verbally threatened with bodily harm by an organized retail criminal.
The National ORC Committee will consist of nationally recognized experts in Organized Retail Crime from law enforcement and retail. The Coalitions’ Executive Board has appointed Rory Stollard, ORC Senior Manager from The Home Depot to chair the committee. The committee is charged with leading a national forum on solutions to address ORC, influencing federal, state, and local ORC legislation, and planning the ORC educational agenda for the 2022 National CLEAR Conference.
“I am very honoured and excited to have been chosen to chair CLEAR’s newly formed National ORC committee,” said Rory Stollard, Chair of CLEAR National ORC Committee. “For over 21 years I have been focused on combating ORC issues and working with various industry, law enforcement and legislative partners on potential solutions. Now more than ever, with the rise in ORC activity, it is critical for us to aggressively and proactively seek out solutions to affect change at the local, state, and federal level. This committee will provide an opportunity for industry collaboration so that we can exchange ideas, share intelligence, provide technical expertise and benchmark for solutions that can help make substantial industry impact and improvements in the battle against ORC.” said Rory Stollard, Chair of CLEAR National ORC Committee.
CLEAR and The National ORC Committee are looking forward to partnering with retailers and law enforcement across the country to address these ORC challenges.
The CLEAR National ORC Committee will be made up of these CLEAR members:
- Rich Rossman – Broward County Sheriff (Co-Chairman)
- Robert Skidmore – US Homeland Security Investigations
- Rory Stallard - AP Investigations, The Home Depot (Chair)
- Mark Speaker – Detective, Plano Texas PD
- Matt McDermott – JCPenney’s
- Jason Davis – Rite Aid
- Dale Fowler – Southeastern Grocers
- Bill Corfield - Target
- Howard Mergler - Master Police Officer, Fairfax Virginia Police Department
- Doug Muldoon - Chief of Police (ret), Palm Bay Florida Police Department
- Justine Venezia – GAP
- Steve Walker – Walgreens
- Chris McCarrick – Kroger
- Jacob Gillette – Meijer
- Amanda Hobert – Lowe’s
- Caitlin Blake – Abercrombie & Fitch
- Denise Wynn – TJX
- Tony Sheppard – ThinkLP
- Jennifer Dayss – Signet Jewellers
- Tom Welch - Unit Chief, United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations
- Chris DeSantis – Macy’s
- Nathan Bandaries – Albertsons
- Gianna Davis - Albertsons
- Brennan Long - Senior Criminal Analyst, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
About CLEAR
About C.L.E.A.R. The Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR) is a non-profit, non-partisan national association founded in November 2008 by a group of Law Enforcement and Retail Loss Prevention professionals that saw the need for the formation of a partnership. The Coalition provides a forum for public and private sector members, with experience in a wide variety of public safety initiatives, to aid and support the establishment of collaborative efforts that are focused on improving the safety of our communities and advancing the profession of its membership. For more information, please visit clearusa.org.
