The Franklin County Sheriff's retail crime task force charged 22 people with theft and trespassing during a coordinated statewide crackdown the week of Aug. 4, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson announced Aug. 11.

The operation marks a sharp jump in activity for the F.O.R.C.E. (Fraud and Organized Retail Crime Engagement) task force, which covers Hilliard-area retailers. As we reported Aug. 6, the unit had secured nine indictments total since launching in March. One week of blitz operations more than doubled that case count.

Statewide, authorities filed charges against 46 people during the Organized Retail Crime Blitz Week. Three regional task forces operating under the attorney general's Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission carried out the effort, targeting theft rings that steal merchandise and resell it through online marketplaces and illicit networks.

The central Ohio F.O.R.C.E. unit led all three task forces in charges and recovered merchandise. It accounted for 22 of the 46 charges and $7,055 in seized goods. The northwest Ohio task force charged 12 people and recovered $976; a southwest Ohio unit also charged 12 and recovered $2,150.

"Organized retail crime is not a victimless offense," Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said in the attorney general's announcement. "It drives up costs for consumers, threatens our safety and fuels broader criminal activity."

The F.O.R.C.E. task force is led by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and includes the Columbus Division of Police, Westerville Police Department, Grandview Heights Division of Police, Clinton Township Police Department, Delaware County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations and both the Franklin and Delaware county prosecutors' offices.

Before the blitz, the task force had recovered more than $145,000 in stolen retail merchandise since March and had 14 open investigations beyond its nine indictments, according to the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. The unit has worked with law enforcement in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania, indicating the theft rings it targets cross state lines.

The task forces were created after the FORCE Act (House Bill 366) became law on April 23, 2025. That legislation makes retail property theft of $7,500 or more a third-degree felony and allows charges from multiple jurisdictions to be combined into a single case, meaning a suspect who steals from stores in Columbus and Westerville can face one aggregated prosecution.

Organized retail theft costs Ohio businesses an estimated $2 billion to $3 billion annually, according to the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants.

The attorney general's office said the task forces gathered additional evidence and intelligence during the blitz that will advance ongoing investigations into theft rings and fencing operations. No follow-up operation dates or court timelines have been announced.