Organized retail theft is becoming a big problem for retailers like Target (TGT) and Kohl's (KSS). Marq Claxton, Director of Black Law Enforcement Alliance and a Former NYPD Officer, tells Yahoo Finance live that "successful outcomes for the thieves" is driving the activity. "Until there are things put in place to mitigate damage or to resist this current surge, there's going to be an increase in these types of activities," Claxton said. Claxton says both retailers, legislators, and law enforcement will all need to do their parts to help bring these thefts down. Unfortunately, Claxton says he predicts retail crime "will continue to escalate and get worse." Claxton fears that as these robberies become more violent and aggressive, there could end up being fatalities, which could ultimately be what it takes for people to take organized retail crime more seriously.

Video Transcript

AKIKO FUJITA: Target CEO spoke out today in its latest earnings call on the unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized crime. The retail giant among many others continuing to face inventory shrink in relation to rising theft this year. As part of Yahoo Finance's week-long special, "Retail Evolution-- The New Era," we're digging deeper into the legal landscape of retail crime.

Here to discuss, we've got Marq Claxton, former NYPD detective and Black Law Enforcement Alliance director. Great to talk to you today. You know, Brooke sort of laid out the problem for us. But that 120% jump number that we heard from Target today really standing out in the first five months of the year. What's driving this?

MARQ CLAXTON: A successful outcomes for the thieves. They're in a position now where these type of flash robberies, these smash-and-grabs or they've been called mobberies are very lucrative and very successful for them. So until there are things put in place to mitigate damage or to resist this current surge, there's going to be an increase in these type of activities.

SEANA SMITH: And what should that look like? When we talk about policies that need to be implemented, what should be the priority there?

MARQ CLAXTON: It's a multi-pronged approach. I think one thing for certain is that the commercial establishments have to really get back to the basics and work on increasing the technology that's available for safety. They also have to consider inventory, which was touched on just earlier, about inventory, how much inventory can remain in their stores. And then even work on restructuring interior design and designs of their establishments, using some different materials in order to secure inventory.

And then there has to be some work done on the part of legislators. And that may require new legislation or enhanced penalties for existing legislation related to these type of robberies, these type of gang robberies, which is what they are, because, in the drop of a dime, they can turn fatal, because there's a tremendous amount of force being used.

And then it has to be a collaborative effort on part of law enforcement, increasing resources. And that's a challenge, given the manpower issues that law enforcement is having across the nation. And then the prosecutor's office have to recognize that this is a disturbing trend that needs to be addressed and dealt with quickly and swiftly. And those individuals who engage in it and who are apprehended must face severe penalties.

AKIKO FUJITA: Marq, when you look at some of these smash-and-grabs, it doesn't feel like there are certain items that are being targeted. And yet you just said, this continues because, for those criminals, it is lucrative and successful. I mean, what is that secondhand market look like? Where are they selling to? Where are they making their money?

MARQ CLAXTON: Well, we have to be mindful that a lot of these more recent smash-and-grabs are involving more high-end materials, high-end stores. And so, you know, they're making a lot of money in selling to online-- online vendors and other underground kind of backdoor establishments that deal in stolen merchandise on a regular basis. So you have this surge of high-end, very expensive product now being available to these underground resources.

SEANA SMITH: So, Marq, how do you crack down then on the third-party sellers here. You know, when we talk about the fact that so many of these items are listed on Amazon, they're listed on Walmart. There was a new law that was passed earlier this summer in an effort to try to stem some of this. But it doesn't sound like that this new Informed Consumers Act is really working that well.

MARQ CLAXTON: Well, it's still very early. But I think we're on the right course in as far as holding those people responsible who serve as the second line and passing this merchandise over. I mean, quite frankly, throughout the nation, it is a crime to possess stolen property. So if an individual or a merchant has-- is in possession, knowingly in possession of stolen property, they can be held legally accountable right now. So I think we're in the right-- we're going in the right direction. We're trying to make sure that there's kind of a truth in advertising, if you will, and that merchants are paying-- are more responsible for the product that they bring into their stores.

AKIKO FUJITA: Marq, you know, when you look at how this has been handled in California, for example, you have the attorney general, who's now teamed up with some of these retailers to try and crack down on organized crime, I mean, how important do you think it is for law enforcement in retail to essentially partner on this issue, just given the scale of the problem at this point?

MARQ CLAXTON: It's vitally important. It's necessary in order to have any kind of impact, any kind of positive impact on decreasing these incidents. Like I said, there has to be this kind of collaborative effort on the part of the commercial establishment, the merchants, the law enforcement, the prosecutor's office, and legislators. And we have to really put additional pressure on those third-party vendors of these items as well. So it's important that there is this collaborative effort in order to stem this tide.

SEANA SMITH: Marq, do you think we've seen the worst of it when it comes to retail crime? Or could this be a problem that continues to escalate?

MARQ CLAXTON: I'm predicting that it will continue to escalate and get worse. There is a certain boldness that's accompanying many of these smashing robberies. And I think unfortunately, it will get worse. And there will unfortunately be some fatalities at some point, because they're becoming more violent, more aggressive, more frequent with more people. So I'm pretty sure, at some point, there's going to be, you know, regrettably a tragic incident connected to it. And I think at that point, there may be the type of focus that we need to pay attention to what's happening.

SEANA SMITH: It certainly needs to be a lot of focus on this issue right now given the risk. Marq Claxton, great to get your perspective. Thanks for joining us.

MARQ CLAXTON: Thank you.