Los Angeles ORC Conference Boasts Record Attendance

Last week the Los Angeles Area Organized Retail Crimes Association (LAAORCA) celebrated a record crowd of nearly 1000 attendees, service providers and diverse line-up of speakers from across the country.

LAAORCA is a cooperative effort between retailers, the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, U.S. Secret Service and many other Southern California law enforcement agencies.  The organization mission is to share case intelligence and work collaboratively on retail crime prevention and investigations.

The event began with comments from LAPD Assistant Chief Michael Moore, LA Sheriff Leroy Baca, LA District Attorney Steve Cooley, Councilmember Dennis Zine, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, LAPD Captain III Bill Williams and Retail Co-Chair/CVS ORC Investigator George Torres.

The conference featured a strong blend of ORC educational content ranging from traditional theft activity to advanced techniques being developed by criminal organizations.  In addition, the newly added awards program recognized retail LP and law enforcement professionals for their achievements in the region.

With mixed emotion the LAAORCA Coordinator and good friend Kent Oda (Detective III, LAPD), announced his retirement.  Assistant Chief Michael Moore and Councilman Dennis Zine, cited LAAORCA and the Law Enforcement and Private Security (LEAPS) programs as marque department efforts.  Kent is leaving behind some big shoes to fill.

Throughout the week Gus Downing was onsite, taping segments for the new Loss Prevention News Network (LPNN), the next vehicle to support the D&D Daily e-newsletter.  I am looking forward to seeing the final product in the weeks to come.