MRA In The News

Hunt Valley Towne Centre has seen a double-digit increase in property crime this year, police data shows. Crime statistics obtained by FOX45 through a public information request reveal an approximately 18.3% increase in reported property incidents when comparing Jan. 1 to Sept. 30 for the years 2023 and 2024. There was a small bump in reported robbery, burglary, and theft in the 100 block of Shawan Road in Cockeysville, the location of the Hunt Valley Towne Centre. The outdoor mall’s highest reported crime, shoplifting, increased from 130 incidents in 2023 to 154 in 2024 during the same period. Meanwhile, credit card and ATM fraud at the shopping center surged by 700%. Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Association, told FOX45 that the trends in Hunt Valley illustrate a significant issue facing the future of retail.  “Theft steadily increases year over year nationally and throughout Maryland,” Locklair said. “We know this via individual member numbers they provide to us and a yearly study by the National Retail Federation.” Click here to read the full article from the Baltimore Sun .

Certain businesses in Prince George’s County may have to step up their security soon.A bill called the Late Night Safety Plan is making its way through the County Council right now - but there are some objections before it passes. Councilmember Krystal Oriadha, who represents District 7, introduced the bill back in March. This week, it passed through a committee and is on its way to a public hearing before a final vote. The goal, Oriadha said, is to combat a crime wave that is making the entire community feel unsafe. ... As part of the bill, businesses have to come up with a safety plan if they're open between the hours of 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. – the original legislation had the timeframe from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. That could include anything from extra lighting and surveillance cameras to staff training and adding on-site security. They then have to submit that plan to local law enforcement for review and approval and renew it every three years. And if they don't - they cannot operate during those overnight hours. The legislation mandates that the plans will be individualized for each business. ... In mid-September, neighboring Montgomery County started requiring businesses to have a late-night safety plan, as well. The difference is that theirs applies to businesses between the hours of 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. The Maryland Restaurant Association and the Maryland Retailers Alliance have both asked Prince George's County Council to amend the current bill to those same times. "We definitely understand the intention to make sure that both customers and employees at these businesses are provided with a safe environment overnight," said Sarah Price with the Maryland Retailers Alliance. But, she said, they are hoping the council will be more transparent and provide more clarity to businesses about expectations moving forward. She added that many of the businesses that are open overnight are meeting a need within the community. Click here to read the full article from Fox 5 DC .

Shopping carts are at the center of new legislation in Prince George's County, Maryland. Residents say they've found shopping carts at apartment complexes, near dumpsters, on the side of the road and other unusual places. “In New Carollton, they’ll take a cart from somewhere and they come and leave it at my door,” one woman told News4. “I think it’s an eyesore, seeing all of the carts in the parking lots, in neighborhoods, in apartment buildings. That needs to stop," another woman said. Prince George's County leaders said they want the carts to come to a halt. “Abandonment of shopping carts, which can seem very like a nuisance or a random issue, but it’s really gotten exasperated, the amount of shopping carts that are in our community,” Council member Wanika Fisher said she decided to sponsor a proposal after a cart landed in her yard. She said she's received several complaints from residents in her district. ... Fisher's Shopping Cart Control Bill would require retailers to implement preventative measures to keep people from taking carts off store property and dumping them somewhere else. Retailers with more than 20 shopping carts would have to label and equip them with anti-theft measures and establish timelines to retreive the carts. Businesses that don't comply would face a $2,000 fine, Fisher said. “Keep retailers responsible for the carts that they utilize in their business,” Fisher said. The Maryland Retailers Alliance agreed cart theft is an issue and safeguards are needed. However, the group opposes the fine. “It ultimately comes across as businesses being held financially responsible for crimes that are committed against and on their property,” said Sarah Price, with the Maryland Retailers Alliance.  Click here to read the full article from NBC Washington.

Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman visited Berlin retailers Thursday afternoon to promote Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week, which ends Saturday. The comptroller was joined by Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance, Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall, Berlin’s Director of Economic and Community Development Ivy Wells and Berlin Town Administrator Mary Bohlen. During Shop Maryland Tax-Free Week, shoppers in Maryland can buy qualifying clothing and shoes priced at $100 less without paying the state’s 6% sales tax. The first $40 of backpack sales are also not subject to sales tax. ... Click here to read more about the visit from delmarva now .

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WASHINGTON, July 25, 2024 – The National Retail Federation today presented the 2024 J. Thomas Weyant Award to Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance. Locklair was recognized at NRF’s Retail Advocates Summit , where retailers, industry leaders and policymakers from across the country gathered in Washington, D.C., for the retail industry’s premier advocacy event. “Cailey Locklair models excellence in association leadership, and NRF is proud to recognize her as a fierce advocate for the retail industry,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “I began my career at a state retail association, and the record of growth and success by the Maryland Retailers Alliance shows that Cailey and her team work tirelessly, passionately and effectively to create a healthy environment for retailers to operate in Annapolis and throughout Maryland.” The award, named for a former president of the Pennsylvania Retailers Association, was created by NRF in 1995 to honor individuals who devote their careers to leading state retail associations and advocating for the retail industry. Locklair works on behalf of the retail, chain drug store and food industries in Maryland. With nearly 20 years in state and local politics, she has pushed issues regarding the state budget, labor and taxes to the forefront of the Alliance’s advocacy agenda, all while emphasizing the necessity to address retail crime across the state. Locklair is a past Chair of the Council of State Retail Associations and a member of the Leadership Maryland Program Class of 2024. “It’s an honor to be named a J. Thomas Weyant Award recipient. I am proud to represent hundreds of Mayland retailers, their employees and the local communities they serve on a daily basis,” Locklair said. “I look forward to continuing our work at the Alliance to promote a thriving retail industry.” Previous recipients of the J. Thomas Weyant Award include North Carolina Retail Merchants Association President and General Counsel Andy Ellen, Retail Association of Maine President and CEO Curtis Picard, and Nebraska Retail Federation President Jim Otto. NRF’s Retail Advocates Summit brings together retailers of all sizes — ranging from independent local sellers to national brands — to meet with members of Congress and discuss a wide range of issues impacting the industry. This year’s event features The Retail Experience , an interactive showcase designed to highlight the power of the retail industry. About NRF The National Retail Federation passionately advocates for the people, brands, policies and ideas that help retail succeed. From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., NRF empowers the industry that powers the economy. Retail is the nation’s largest private-sector employer, contributing $5.3 trillion to annual GDP and supporting more than one in four U.S. jobs — 55 million working Americans. For over a century, NRF has been a voice for every retailer and every retail job, educating, inspiring and communicating the powerful impact retail has on local communities and global economies. ###

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — With profit margins already razor-thin, many businesses are struggling to survive against a growing wave of shoplifters. The Giant Supermarket in Edmondson Village announced this week that it'll soon close. Last year, Lidl Supermarket in Brooklyn shut down too. While neither publicly blamed theft for their shutdowns, retailers say almost every store is taking a severe hit. "The laws that are on the books are not strong enough to handle what's going on," said Cailey Locklair, President of the Maryland Retail Association. For the eighth time, Locklair lobbied state lawmakers for a measure aimed at stiffening penalties for shoplifters, however, it failed to pass.  Click here to watch the interview with Fox45.

Baltimore (WBFF) — The Maryland Retailers Alliance is pushing for new legislation that would stiffen penalties for shoplifting and thefts. According to the organization, crime at businesses has reached an over $100 billion problem across the country. But as the organization fights for tougher laws, the problem persists. The organization's concerns come just one day after another theft at the A-1 Convenience Store on Joppa Road in Towson. Ali, the store's owner says he's considering shutting down after a string of thefts by mostly juvenile thieves. Cailey Locklair who's president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance--which advocates for over 6,000 businesses across the state--believes a dramatic increase in organized shoplifting crime is threatening the survival of small and large retailers. "That's exactly what will happen. But it's way bigger than that. It (means) higher prices for American consumers. It's less sales tax revenue for our state and our local governments to pay for the things that we all care about," said Locklair. ... In Maryland, $1500 is the threshold for a felony theft charge. According to Locklair, organized offenders simply jump from one region to another staying below the threshold. Locklair is pushing for stiffer laws that would combine offenses to help ensure a felony charge. But so far, she says, proposed bills have failed. Click here to read the full article from Fox45 News .

Maryland’s legislative session ended Monday, and online casinos weren’t legalized. The news doesn’t come as a major surprise, as Sen. Ron Watson told US Bets last week that Maryland online casino legalization efforts failed in 2024. The topic will likely come up again in 2025 and beyond, and the same discussion points that dominated 2024 conversations will surely be critical again. A couple key concerns about gambling expansion torpedoed legalization hopes in 2024. ... Lawmakers have been inundated with information from different sides of the aisle as it relates to casino cannibalization. Those against online casino legalization are adamant that mobile casinos would lead to job loss at the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos. Some business owners who operate near casinos say that their bottom line could be negatively impacted by online casinos. “Marylanders in every region of the state, Republicans and Democrats alike, are united in their opposition of iGaming and iLottery,” Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Association, said in a press release. “These policies would negatively impact not only the gaming and lottery industries, but also every community that benefits from their local economic stimulation.” Click here to read the full article from US Bets.