63% of retailers report under half of their theft to police. Learn why, what evidence helps, and what new federal and state laws could change.
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6 min read
The short answer
Most store theft never reaches police. In NRF's 2026 survey, 63% of retailers said they report fewer than half of their incidents. Two reasons stood out: the loss was small or under the felony threshold (60%), and doubt that police would follow through (54%). The answer isn't to report everything. It's to record every incident the same way, save the video the same day, and link repeat cases, so a pile of small thefts shows up as the pattern it is. The law is moving that way too. The federal Combating Organized Retail Crime Act passed the House 348 to 60 in May 2026, and several states changed their theft laws in early 2026. This post is general information and not legal advice.
Why don’t stores report more theft?
NRF’s numbers tell the story. 63% of retailers report fewer than half of their incidents to police. Of those, 60% say the loss was small or below the felony threshold, and 54% worry that police won’t respond or follow through. Add the plain matter of time. Filing a report means a manager is off the floor for a while.
Here’s the catch. Say one person hits five of your stores for $300 each, and nobody files anything. No one ever sees the $1,500 total. The theft was organized, but your records make it look like five small, unrelated events.
What is a felony threshold?
It’s the dollar amount where theft stops being a misdemeanor and becomes a felony. It’s set by each state, and it varies a lot. A recent industry review by Loss Prevention Media (August 2026) lists $200 in New Jersey, $750 in Florida, $1,000 in Virginia, and $2,500 in Texas and Wisconsin.
Many states also let prosecutors add several thefts together, which is called aggregation, or treat repeat offenders more harshly. The rules differ from state to state and change often, so ask your legal team what applies where you operate.
What is changing in 2026?
At the federal level. The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (H.R. 2853) passed the House 348 to 60 in May 2026. As described in news coverage, it would:
Let federal prosecutors add up stolen goods over a 12 month period
Allow criminal forfeiture of assets gained through these crimes
Go after the use of prepaid and gift cards to launder the proceeds
Create a Department of Homeland Security coordination center for organized retail crime
Senators Chuck Grassley and Catherine Cortez Masto introduced a companion bill in the Senate. As of early October 2026, the Senate had not passed it, and NRF was urging it to. Check Congress.gov for the latest status.
In the states. According to a March 2026 review by ICSC, 11 states were acting on organized retail crime. Four had already signed new laws:
Wisconsin (AB 89) allows retail theft to be added up and raises penalties for repeat offenders
Wyoming (SF 7 and SF 8) lowers the felony threshold for repeat offenders and creates a new offense for fleeing across county or state lines
Kansas (HB 2347) adds gift cards to the cards prosecutors can charge under
Oregon (HB 4041) changed its theft value thresholds
Bills were still moving in seven more states at that point, including Arizona, Hawaii, and Michigan. Treat all of this as a snapshot. Laws change fast.
What makes a theft report useful?
Police and prosecutors need facts they can use quickly. Collect these every time.
The date, time, store, and where in the store it happened
What was taken, with item names, quantities, and retail value
A description of each person, and a vehicle description if someone saw it safely
The video clip, exported in its original format with time stamps, plus a note of who exported it and when
Receipts, point of sale records, or inventory counts that show the loss
Names and contact details for any witnesses
Links to earlier incidents with the same person, vehicle, or pattern
Your own incident number, and the police case number once you have it
How do you connect the small cases?
This is where most stores lose the thread.
Keep one running log. A spreadsheet is fine. Use the same fields every time.
Tag repeat people and vehicles. Then add up the value by person over a period. “Twelve incidents and $4,300 in 90 days” gets more attention than twelve separate notes.
Share a summary with your local police contact or prosecutor’s office. Ask how they like files to be organized.
Join local retail crime partnerships where your counsel says it’s allowed. Other stores may be seeing the same people.
What about staff safety?
It comes first. Staff shouldn’t chase, grab, or block anyone. Note what you can from a safe spot. If anyone is in danger or violence is happening, call 911. For everything else, use your local non emergency line or online reporting. Follow your company policy.
Where does video fit?
A clean clip with the right time stamp can save hours. Spacture AI watches the cameras a store already has and alerts your team in real time, so someone can note the time, the place, and what happened while it’s fresh. A person reviews each alert. Across 500+ US retail locations, Spacture AI delivers a 43 second response time.
Video helps, but it doesn’t decide whether police or a prosecutor will act.
Frequently asked questions
Should every theft be reported to police?
Not necessarily. Many chains set a rule, such as reporting above a dollar amount, any violence, or any repeat person. What matters most is applying the rule the same way every time and logging the rest.
When does shoplifting become a felony?
It depends on your state. It’s usually based on the dollar value, the number of past convictions, or both. Examples range from $200 to $2,500, so check your local law.
What evidence helps the most?
Clear video with time stamps, a list of items with values, and a record that links the incident to earlier ones.
Is the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act law yet?
Not as of this writing. The House passed it in May 2026, and it still needs to pass the Senate and be signed.
What is organized retail crime?
It’s planned theft by a group, usually to resell the goods. NRF’s 2026 report found that 40% of retailers saw more of it.
Does reporting help even if police don’t respond right away?
It can. A report creates a record, helps show patterns, and gives prosecutors something to work with later.
About Spacture AI
Spacture AI is a New York based retail loss prevention platform. It uses AI video intelligence on the cameras retailers already own to detect theft, fraud, and safety incidents in real time. It runs in 500+ US retail locations and is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR and CCPA compliant.
Sources
Retailers See Fraud Schemes Evolve as Shoplifting Declines, NRF Study Finds, National Retail Federation, July 30, 2026
Grassley Cheers House Passage of Combating Organized Retail Crime Act, Senate Judiciary Committee, May 13, 2026
Bill That Targets Organized Retail Theft Passes US House, Moves On to the Senate, WBNG, May 13, 2026
H.R. 2853, Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025, Congress.gov
States Continue Efforts to Combat Organized Retail Crime in 2026, ICSC, March 26, 2026
Retail Theft Laws Update: Felony Threshold Changes Across the US, Loss Prevention Media, August 11, 2026
Key takeaways
Most theft goes unreported because the losses look small and follow through seems unlikely. Log every incident the same way, save video the same day, and link repeat cases so the total is visible. Keep staff safe, and keep an eye on the new federal and state laws.
