California Governor Says Efforts to Tackle Retail Crime Have Paid Off
California’s expensive efforts to crack down on retail crime are paying off.
Since January, the Golden State’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF) has recovered $4.4 million in stolen goods as a result of 211 investigations, which led to the arrest of 383 suspects. In March alone, the ORCTF, which is spearheaded by the California Highway Patrol, recovered $2,134,742 in stolen assets and collared 174 criminals.
Some of the individual operations carried out so far this year have been massive in scale; according to the governor’s office, a sting operation in the San Francisco Bay Area led to the recovery of merchandise worth over $770,000. Last month, real-time tracking capabilities led CHP to an individual suspected of stealing 137 beauty items in Lincoln, Calif. worth $19,000—and doing $10,000 in damage to the victimized store. After the seizures are catalogued, the merchandise is returned to the retailer.
Since the ORCTF was established in 2019, it has conducted 3,700 investigations into retail theft incidents, leading to the arrest of about 4,200 suspects. Solving these crimes led to the recovery of 1.3 million stolen goods valued at $56 million.
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With retail crime on the rise in California since the pandemic, Governor Gavin Newsom in 2023 made the state’s largest investment to date in bolstering law enforcement capabilities across the state. A whopping $267 million was funneled into 55 local law enforcement agencies to up technological capacities and train and hire officers.
Those investments are now bearing fruit; last month, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s (LASD) ORCTF, along with collaborating agencies, took down a retail theft ring that boosted $4 million in merchandise from retailers like Target, Nordstrom and TJ Maxx.
An analysis of Real Time Crime Index data by the Public Policy Institute of California showed that property crime dropped by 8.5 percent and violent crime dropped by 4.6 percent in 2024, with burglary and larceny also decreasing by 13.6 percent and 18.6 percent respectively from 2019 levels.
“The CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force teams have demonstrated exceptional dedication and coordination, leading to significant disruptions of criminal networks targeting California’s businesses,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said this week. “Their proactive investigations, strategic partnerships, and relentless pursuit of offenders have resulted in numerous arrests and recoveries, restoring a sense of safety and accountability in our communities.”
The governor’s office attributed much of the initiative’s success to CHP’s work with local law enforcement in high-crime areas. Since the beginning of the regional training and collaboration, nearly 6,000 arrests have been made, about 4,500 stolen vehicles recovered and around 300 firearms confiscated throughout Bakersfield, San Bernardino and Oakland.
California voters last year made their voices heard on the matter, passing Prop. 36, which allows certain property crimes to be prosecuted as felonies if there is a history of criminal activity. The bill unraveled some of the provisions of Prop. 47, a controversial bill passed in 2014, which set the felony threshold for shoplifting at $950. Now, petty theft or shoplifting with two prior theft-related convictions may be charged as a felony.
