Professional, organized thieves swooping into stores in groups to steal high-demand items to sell on the black market. Sounds preposterous? It’s not. News reports in Maryland and across the country confirm what all of us are experiencing in our daily lives, which is that the number and frequency of retail theft events in stores is increasing at an alarming pace. In fact, it is now an over $100 billion problem in the United States alone. Employees who try to stop violent thieves risk injury to themselves and nearby customers, and some have even died. Marylanders shouldn’t have to put up with danger and chaos just to go to work or run errands.

Organized theft is no petty crime; these are not one-off crimes of desperation or a mom lifting a can of formula to feed her baby. These are professionals stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of items at a time. Typically, organized rings coordinate and plan thefts on a large scale, identifying high-demand merchandise with high resale value — think over-the-counter medicine, baby formula and laundry detergent, designer sunglasses, power tools and even spools of copper wire.

They move from store to store, crossing county and state lines and often using stolen vehicles for their getaway car. Aisles are swarmed, a cart is loaded up and pushed out the door past employees, merchandise is quickly moved into the car and the group disperses before police can arrive. Sound like something out of a movie? Unfortunately, it is just another day for Maryland retailers both large and small. With legislation, however, we can fight back.

For almost a decade, the Maryland Retailers Alliance has advocated for policies before the Maryland General Assembly to address organized theft, first in the form of task forces and now a bill to close a loophole in the law that allows crime rings to steal thousands of dollars’ worth of goods in crime sprees across the state without facing felony theft charges. This loophole impacts retailers statewide, and Sen. Ron Watson and Del. Karen Toles from Prince George’s County have stepped up to spearhead the legislation. The proposal moved unanimously in both chambers for the first time in 2024, but only after a legislative “crossover” deadline preventing the bill from crossing the finish line. In the meantime, in 2024, California passed a retail theft package going far beyond Maryland’s proposed modest legislation. Thankfully, S.B. 11/H.B. 179 was pre-filed for 2025 and was heard in the respective committees on Jan. 21. We strongly encourage the public to let legislators know about their support.

To date, 37 states, both blue and red including every state surrounding Maryland, have passed laws addressing the issue of organized retail crime. Many states now have multiple statutes on the books ranging from mandated coordination for easier prosecution, task forces, funding, harsher penalties and the creation of new crimes to distinguish between petty and professional theft. Until now, Maryland has been left in the dust with communities watching anchor stores, grocery stores and pharmacies close leaving consumers with a lack of access to basic needs. Unfortunately, Maryland continues to grow as a target area due to our high felony theft threshold, prohibition on charge aggregation across jurisdictional lines and proximity to the Port of Baltimore and Interstates 95 and 81.

Legislators again have an opportunity this year to protect consumers and the retailers who serve their communities. S.B. 11 and H.B. 179 would give our police and prosecutors powerful new tools to fight back against the worst perpetrators who commit large thefts. We don’t have to put up with it. It is time for Maryland to take action and pass this bill to address organized retail crime.

Del. Karen Toles (karen.toles@house.state.md.us) is a Democratic delegate representing District 25 of Prince George’s County. Cailey Locklair is president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance.