FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Organized retail theft has caused a $2 billion loss in one year in Kentucky, according to Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman.
At his Frankfort office on Wednesday, Coleman discussed the new organized retail crime unit that was created this year. The focus is not on petty shoplifters; they're going after gang-driven organized retail theft, according to Coleman.
"We're talking about crews that are coming up from other states, coming into Kentucky, and we're talking about an economic impact last year of $2 billion...in the Commonwealth...a 30% increase in one year," Coleman said.
Coleman says Kentucky is being hit particularly hard because of its convenient location along multiple interstates. So he says the state's deterrence must be aggressive.
"We're not talking about a stolen comic book or stolen bubblegum. This is real money and real people hurting," Coleman said.
Since May, one detective working specifically on the new organized retail crime unit has secured multiple indictments, even some from out of state, according to the Attorney General's Office.
Next year, Coleman is asking the General Assembly for more money to grow the unit. He says if Kentucky doesn't get a grasp on this problem, regular people will continue to feel the impacts.
"Anyone who thinks this is just shoplifting, that's not what we're talking about. It's violence, it's closed stores and it's higher prices that we're all paying as a result of it," Coleman said.
