New Jersey S 4246: Establishes Organized Retail Theft Prosecution Unit in DLPS.

Bill Text

SENATE, No. 4246  
STATE OF NEW JERSEY 
220th LEGISLATURE 
   
INTRODUCED DECEMBER 18, 2023 
 
 
Sponsored by: 
Senator  KRISTIN M. CORRADO 
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic) 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS 
 Establishes Organized Retail Theft Prosecution Unit in DLPS.  
  
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT  
 As introduced. 
    

 
S4246 CORRADO 
2 
 
 
AN ACT concerning  the prosecution  of certain  retail  theft  crimes 1 
and supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes. 2 
 3 
 BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 4 
of New Jersey: 5 
 6 
 1. The Legislature finds and declares that: 7 
 a. Retailers  in  New  Jersey  and  across  the  United States  are 8 
experiencing unprecedented levels of theft in their stores. 9 
 b. In  September  2023,  the  Loss  Prevention  Research  Council 10 
and  National  Retail  Federation  released the 2023  National  Retail 11 
Security  Survey  in  which  177  retail  brands  and  more  than  97,000 12 
retail  locations  were  surveyed.    The  survey revealed a  significant 13 
increase  in  organized  retail  crime, with retail  theft  losses totaling 14 
$122.1 billion in 2022, a 19 percent increase from 2021. In addition 15 
to  severe  economic  consequences,  the  survey  indicates  that  two-16 
thirds   of   respondents   experienced   an   increase   in   violence   and 17 
aggression from organized retail theft perpetrators.  18 
 c. The   United   States   Chamber   of   Commerce   reports   that 19 
organized retail theft has resulted in the loss of nearly 700,000 jobs 20 
nationwide due to over $125 billion in economic losses. 21 
 d. Organized  retail  crime  cuts  into  tax  revenue  and  increases 22 
prices,  adding  to  the  burdens  already  faced  by  the  residents  of  this 23 
State. 24 
 e. In  a  March  2022  letter  to  federal  and  state  officials, the 25 
United  States  Chamber  of  Commerce  declared  organized  retail 26 
crime  to  be  a  national  crisis,  and  called  upon  policymakers  to  take 27 
specific actions to help businesses fight crime. 28 
 f. The  establishment  of  an  Organized  Retail  Theft  Prosecution 29 
Unit   within the   Department   of   Law   and   Public   Safety   is   an 30 
important   step   to   protecting   businesses   in   New   Jersey   and 31 
increasing public safety.  32 
 33 
 2. As  used  in P.L.        ,  c.          (C.        )(pending  before  the 34 
Legislature  as  this  bill): “retail theft” means a crime of shoplifting 35 
pursuant   to   N.J.S.2C:20-11;   leader   of   organized   retail   theft 36 
enterprise  pursuant  to  section  2  of  P.L.2006,  c.56  (C.2C:20-11.2); 37 
or  theft  as  defined  in chapter  20  of  Title  2C  of  the  New  Jersey 38 
Statutes that involves the stealing of merchandise. 39 
 40 
 3.  a.    The  Attorney  General  shall  establish  an  Organized  Retail 41 
Theft Prosecution Unit in the Department of Law and Public Safety 42 
which  shall  consist  of one  or  more  assistant  or  deputy  attorney 43 
general.    The  unit  shall  be  overseen  by  an  assistant  or  deputy 44 
attorney general who shall be designated an Organized Retail Theft 45 
Prosecution Coordinator. 46 

 
S4246 CORRADO 
3 
 
 
 b. The Organized Retail Theft Prosecution Coordinator shall be 1 
responsible   for   overseeing   and   coordinating   the   duties   of   the 2 
Organized Retail Theft Prosecution Unit.   3 
 c. The   Organized   Retail   Theft   Prosecution   Unit   shall   be 4 
responsible for: 5 
 (1) investigating and, if warranted, prosecuting cases concerning 6 
acts of retail theft; and 7 
 (2) assisting county    prosecutors    in    the    investigation    and 8 
prosecution of acts of retail theft. 9 
 d. Pursuant   to   notification   procedures   established   by   the 10 
Attorney  General,  a  county  prosecutor,  law  enforcement  officer, 11 
special  officer,  or  merchant  may  notify  the  Organized  Retail  Theft 12 
Prosecution  Coordinator  of  allegations  that  a  crime  of  retail  theft 13 
was committed.   14 
 e. A  county  prosecutor  shall  notify  the  Organized  Retail  Theft 15 
Prosecution  Coordinator  that  a  crime  of  retail  theft  was  allegedly 16 
committed by a defendant: 17 
 (1) if  there  is  probable  cause  that  the  defendant  has  committed 18 
two or more criminal acts of retail theft in the State; or 19 
 (2) if  there  is  probable  cause  that  the  defendant  has  committed 20 
one or more acts of retail theft in this State and one or more acts of 21 
retail theft in another state; or 22 
 (3) if the defendant has previously been convicted of retail theft 23 
in this State or another state. 24 
 25 
 4. The  Organized  Retail  Theft  Prosecution  Coordinator  shall 26 
annually  report  to  the  Governor  and, pursuant  to  section  2  of 27 
P.L.1991,  c.164  (C.52:14-19.1),  to the  Legislature  on the  duties  of 28 
the  Organized  Retail  Theft  Prosecution  Unit.    The  report  shal