The Greenwich Police Department’s ORCA Unit is a plain-clothes detail that has been in operation for the past two years with a mission of proactively reducing the growing trend of larceny, fraud, identity theft, and other related crimes that targeted the Central Business District (CBD) of Greenwich.
One of the main functions that have allowed ORCA officers to achieve success has been the ability to engage with local business owners, managers, and employees. ORCA officers have been able to instruct employees and business owners in ways of detecting and deterring fraud, in the trends and strategies utilized by shoplifters, and in sharing information regarding the criminal groups operating in the tri-state area.
Through these relationships built with local businesses, ORCA officers have been able to make arrests that have included members of violent gangs and organized retail theft organizations. They have stopped crimes in progress and created an omnipresence in the Greenwich CBD. ORCA criminal cases will frequently become intertwined with Federal Law Enforcement investigations, as well as thieves of the New York Police Department and other surrounding state police agencies.
The Greenwich ORCA Unit has become a model unit for police agencies in the region. Below is a breakdown of the work initiated and performed by ORCA.
January 1, 2020 – December 8, 2020
· Cases Investigated: 45
· Cases Closed by Arrest: 26
· Number of People Arrested: 37
· Number of Felony Charges: 65
· Number of Misdemeanor Charges: 37
Note- Several arrestees have been tied to violent gangs and numerous firearms seized