D/Sgt. Howard Mergler — Instructor Profile

About D/Sgt. Howard Mergler

Detective Sergeant Mergler is an experienced police officer with over 26 years of experience at the largest local law enforcement agency of over 1,400 officers in Virginia. He has a demonstrated history of working complex financial crime and organized retail crime cases. A Virginia DCJS certified law enforcement instructor for over 12 years, he developed and taught the Department’s Holiday Anti-Theft Training curriculum from 2014 through 2018, which trains officers to work in a plain clothes capacity in a mall setting to identify, surveil, and apprehend criminals involved in all forms of retail fraud and theft. Sgt. Mergler developed and teaches the Department’s only class on Organized Retail Crime.

Prior to being promoted, Sgt. Mergler spent over 11 years assigned to a specialized retail theft unit. The unit is unique in its efforts to address retail fraud and theft by having a full police unit embedded in two neighboring malls. The unit used a combination of plain clothes and uniformed officers to patrol and enforce laws at the malls. When combined, the two malls are one of the largest shopping malls in retail space and number of stores in the entire U.S.

Sgt. Mergler is nationally known and recognized for his partnerships with retailers and financial institutions in combating Organized Retail Crime (ORC) with a focus on South American Theft Groups and Romani Organized Theft Groups. He has presented on ORC at multiple conferences, to include the 2026 Justice X Conference, the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators (IAFCI) International Training Conference and the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR) National Training Conference. He was awarded the Loss Prevention Magazine Magpie Award for Excellence in Partnerships in 2023 and the 2023 Flock #Solved Award for Public Safety Partnership.

Sgt. Mergler is currently assigned to his Department’s Major Crimes Bureau and is President of the Mid-Atlantic Organized Retail Crime Alliance (MAORCA), Vice President of the National Association of BUNCO Investigators (NABI), Regional Director for the Coalition of Law Enforcement and Retail (CLEAR), and a Board Member of the NY/NJ/PA Metro Organized Retail Crime Alliance (METRORCA).