Home Depot exec warns about violent threats workers face amid rise of retail theft

A Home Depot executive is warning Congress about the company’s employees facing violent threats amid the rise in retail theft at stores around the country, which he said often occurs as part of a broader criminal enterprise to support more nefarious activities.

Scott Glenn, vice president of asset protection at Home Depot, discussed those issues in testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence about the scourge of organized retail theft around the country. 

In the hearing, titled “From Festive Cheer to Retail Fear: Addressing Organized Retail Crime,” Glenn said that since 2020 the company has “seen a significant uptick in our store and asset protection associates coming into violent contact with criminal actors.”

“These individuals are becoming increasingly aggressive,” Glenn said. “They are dangerous and often care little about any consequence other than getting out of the store with as much product as possible. Our associates have been threatened with knives, guns, and other physical attacks.”

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“Generally, the intent of these [organized retail crime] actors is to resell and monetize the product as quickly as possible. Our law enforcement partners often find these crimes linked to other more sinister activities such as drug, gun and even human trafficking,” he added.

Glenn said that the company believes there are three main reasons for the uptick in organized retail theft. One such reason is the “availability of drugs, opioids and fentanyl specifically and increased availability has driven a need for easy and fast cash.” 

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He added that some of the “boosters” in these operations “are simply pawns for higher level fences and criminal organizations to commit their crimes.”

“Organized retail crime is often connected to other illicit activities,” Glenn explained. “According to Homeland Security Investigations, organized theft groups also engage in cybercrime, money laundering, drug trafficking, terrorism financing, weapons trafficking, and transnational organized crime.”

Glenn also cited the rise of third-party marketplaces where criminals can anonymously sell stolen or counterfeit goods, in addition to a lack of resources for law enforcement agencies at all levels of government to assist stores and workers as factors contributing to the rise of organized retail crime.