Retail theft is taking a growing toll on North Texas businesses, and new data suggests repeat offenders are driving much of the problem. A report released by retail crime intelligence platform Auror found that North Texas retailers experience repeat and organized retail crime at a higher rate tha n the national average. The company, which works with 265 retailers in North Texas, recorded more than 20,000 retail crime events annually across the region. Raul Aguilar, Auror’s head of North America law enforcement partnerships and a retired deputy assistant director with the Department of Homeland Security, said the goal is to help retailers and law enforcement identify patterns and share information more quickly. “We want to make sure that those events are then shared in a quick way, so they can look at it and try to see what’s impacting the community,” Aguilar said. The top 10% of offenders in North Texas are responsible for 72% of recorded retail crime events. Nationwide, the top 10% of offenders account for 66% of recorded retail crime events. Auror said agencies in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Addison and the Texas Department of Public Safety use its platform. Aguilar said information sharing can help law enforcement agencies make better use of limited resources. “I served in law enforcement. I remember the days we just don’t have enough bodies; we don’t have enough people. Intelligence gets broken in silos,” Aguilar said. Auror also found that one in every eight retail crime events in Texas involves violence, weapons or threatening behavior toward retail employees. The company said repeat offenders are more than twice as likely to engage in violent behavior inside stores. For some business owners, the statistics reflect challenges they have experienced firsthand. Analy Perez, owner of Carniceria Las Delicias in Saginaw, said thieves stole about $10,000 worth of cellphones from her store last year. She said another group recently attempted to break into the business through the front door in the middle of the night. “I fear for my employees, honestly, more than what they can take from the store,” Perez said. Perez described a previous burglary in which thieves entered the store and quickly took merchandise. “They broke the glass and just came in here. They had backpacks, and they took everything and anything they could find. In a matter of what? Like, five minutes,” she said. Aguilar said retailers should continue sharing information with both law enforcement and neighboring businesses to help identify crime trends and potentially prevent future incidents. “It’s pretty impactful if you look at how many number of different events we have across the state of Texas, so retailers need to pay attention,” Aguilar said. ...read more read less