Organized theft is the nation's fastest-growing crime, according to the FBI.  (Source oregonlive.com)

With healthy holiday sales comes a companion rise in organized shoplifting, Portland-area retailers say  A clerk at the Victoria's Secret in Washington Square noticed that a group of women returning lingerie matched descriptions of a fraud ring known at other branches of the store and called security.   Tigard police arrested two of the women on outstanding theft warrants, arriving at the scene near closing time.  While the bust surprised customers rushing to finish purchases before the mall shut down for the night, it's actually a relatively common scenario: Organized theft is the nation's fastest-growing crime, according to the FBI.   "It's a business," said Gayla Shillitto, the Tigard police crime analyst investigating the Victoria's Secret case. "It's a way of life. It goes on every day."   And the Northwest is harder hit.  "The bad guys don't have jurisdictional boundaries," said Tacoma Police Officer Scott Stanley, who created the nation's first multi-state alliance against organized retail theft. The alliance has a list of more than 600 retail members -- car shops, mall stores and supermarkets -- in states ranging from Washington and Oregon to California and Alaska.   (Source oregonlive.com)