US rail and other transportation industries are urging Congress to move forward on a bill that would create a division within the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate investigations of organized cargo theft.
The bipartisan Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025 was introduced on 10 April by Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada).
The bill, similar to a 2023 effort, calls for creation of an organized retail and supply chain crime coordination center to unite experts from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as retail industry representatives. The Class I railroads also operate their own police forces with powers equivalent to public law enforcement.
Coordinating investigations in a timely manner is difficult because of the proliferation of different agencies. Railroad police officials are limited to carriers' facilities, while local police forces are unable to quickly investigate railroad thefts because they need specific permission to enter railroad property.
"Organized criminal operations continue to evolve and escalate their targeted attacks against our nation's supply chain and retailers," Association of American Railroads chief executive Ian Jefferies said. The nation's largest railroads experienced a 40pc spike in cargo theft last year, costing carriers more than $100mn, AAR said.
Rail thefts tend to be split between flash mob robberies and organized efforts by criminal networks, according to Danny Ramon, director of intelligence and response at logistics platform Overhaul.
Flash mobs often target containers in urban areas, seeking valuable products such as apparel and footwear that they can quickly sell. These thefts often occur in regions near ports where containers are loaded onto trains, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta.
But thefts in rural areas are becoming more prolific, Ramon said. They have become popular locations because it can take law enforcement an hour or longer to reach trains as opposed to minutes for urban rail cargo thefts. Rural areas also make it easier for groups to stage larger thefts.
The organized groups tend to track trains from origin and monitor them along the way, breaking in during breaks in rural areas. They come prepared with equipment and cargo vans to enable them to quickly empty products from trains.
Arizona has become a popular location for thefts because of its vast portions of rural area. In addition, many trains are heading east with containers of goods recently loaded from west coast ports.
Thefts by criminal organizations have increased in part because of the ease in selling to individuals. The proliferation of on line websites have allowed these organizations to bypass traditional third-party middlemen and sell directly to consumers, Ramon said.
