Organized retail crime is rising in Wichita, Kansas, according to a report by CNN.
"To see this much retail crime, it's shocking," Captain Casey Slaughter, who leads Wichita Police Department's property crimes bureau, told CNN.
Organized retail crime at retailers was 26.5% higher in 2021 than in the previous year, according to a study by the National Retail Federation.
Target said organized retail crime has led to more than $400 million in profit losses in 2022.
Local crime officials say that drugs, and in particular fentanyl, a synthetic drug like heroin but 50 times more potent, appear to be driving a lot of the retail crime.
Persons:
—, Kris Kobach, Captain Casey Slaughter, Slaughter, Joe Sullivan, Sullivan, Cabela's, Robert Lee, Lee
Organizations:
CNN, Service, Kansas, Wichita Police, National Retail Federation, Target
Locations:
Wichita , Kansas, San Francisco, Wichita, Sedgwick, Sedgwick County