The Big Picture

Former Utah Commissioner of Public Safety Jess Anderson discusses the growing challenges in retail crime and law enforcement's technological gap.

By the Numbers

• Shoplifting has surged 94% since 2019
• 14% increase from 2024 to 2025 alone

Key Challenges

• Government agencies lag 3-5 steps behind criminal elements and private sector
• Legal restrictions on using advanced technology like facial recognition and AI
• Limited ability to share data between private sector and law enforcement
• Increasing violence in retail theft incidents

Solutions Proposed

• Better communication between law enforcement agencies
• Improved collaboration between private sector and law enforcement
• Updates to legislation allowing better use of modern technology
• Environmental design improvements in retail stores

Bottom Line

Success requires aggressive enforcement, better inter-agency communication, and modernized approaches to using private sector technology in law enforcement.

Retail's Most Wanted is presented by LVT and the Attorney General Alliance.

Why it matters: Dr. Read Hayes, Director of the Loss Prevention Research Council, explains how modern surveillance technology impacts crime prevention, particularly in retail settings.

Key findings:

• Surveillance platforms offer three core benefits: Deterrence (visible presence), detection (through audio and visual sensors), and documentation (evidence collection).
• Modern systems outperform legacy tech: Higher resolution, day/night capability, and networked integration dramatically improve suspect identification.
• The future is multi-sensor fusion: Hayes predicts advancements will combine visual, digital, and audio signatures with cross-organizational data sharing.

Between the lines:

Retailers facing crime surges are implementing these technologies defensively, balancing loss prevention with maintaining customer access to products.

The bottom line:

Surveillance technology creates both deterrence through visibility and accountability through better detection and documentation capabilities.

Retail's Most Wanted is presented by LVT and the Attorney General Alliance.

Why it matters: Utah's Organized Retail Crime Association has pioneered collaborative approaches to combat sophisticated retail theft since 2012, well ahead of the national spotlight on this issue.

By the numbers:

• Established in 2012 when loss prevention officers noticed increasing sophistication in retail theft
• Focuses on repeat offenders and organized crime rather than typical shoplifting
• Will host its annual conference on October 1, 2025

The big picture: UTORCA's success relies on real-time communication systems that allow retailers to alert each other immediately when theft occurs, helping build stronger cases against organized theft rings.

What's next: UTORCA's upcoming conference (October 1, 2025) will feature the state Attorney General, local officials, and specialized training sessions, with a networking event on September 30 sponsored by LiveView Technologies.

Retail's Most Wanted is presented by LVT and the Attorney General Alliance.