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Karen Edwards

Karen Edwards serves as interim associate dean of academic programs as well as interim co-director / BAIS and online programs and is a senior instructor in the Department of Retailing at the University of South Carolina. Recipient of the University’s 2019 Garnet Apple Award for Teaching Innovation, the 2017 Faculty Integrity Award, and the 2010-11 Harry E. Varney Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award, Edwards teaches in the areas of digital commerce, asset protection and law-related issues affecting retailers. Edwards has developed numerous undergraduate and graduate-level courses, such as Law for Retailers, Fashion and the Law and Asset Protection for Retailers. She has also led numerous study abroad programs and co-developed the University’s first-ever virtual study abroad course. In 2016, Edwards received the Brian J. and Linda L. Mihalik Global Scholar Award. She is a frequent presenter and past associate director for distributed learning at the University’s Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), where she presently serves as a faculty mentor for individualized coaching.

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Contributor Brief·Karen Edwards · 1 article
Updated Sep 5, 2023

Retail crime requires systemic community coordination, not isolated corporate security responses

Karen Edwards argues that organized retail theft has reached a tipping point where individual retailer responses—closures, flight from cities—are symptoms of a failed system demanding coordinated community intervention. She contends that breaking organized crime rings requires addressing root causes through collective action, not defensive corporate strategies alone.

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retailers fleeing high-crime cities signals breaking point

“Retailers fleeing high-crime cities signals a breaking point that demands coordinated community intervention.”

More Community Action is Needed to Help Prevent the Growing Amount of Organized Crime Targeting Retailers

Factors driving retail flight from urban centers

Organized theft ring operations9
Inadequate police response capacity8
Community coordination gaps8
Individual store security costs7

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28%Organized theft
Organized theft ring operations
Inadequate police response capacity
Community coordination gaps
Individual store security costs

organized theft rings

operate with coordination that outpaces fragmented retail security response

Breaking organized crime requires addressing root causes through collective action.

More Community Action is Needed to Help Prevent the Growing Amount of Organized Crime Targeting Retailers

Retailers closing stores in major cities reveals that defensive corporate strategies alone cannot win.

More Community Action is Needed to Help Prevent the Growing Amount of Organized Crime Targeting Retailers

“Community coordination remains the untapped leverage point against retail crime networks.”

Themes:Organized retail crime demands systemic community responseCorporate defensiveness masks structural policy failureBreaking crime rings requires coordinated intervention over individual security

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