Newsom touts California’s efforts to crack down on retail theft

State law enforcement officials have released data surrounding the organized retail crime crackdown taking place across California in 2024.

According to a release from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, as of Wednesday, 474 people have been arrested and 160,041 stolen items recovered from 185 investigations by the CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force since January.

The value of the stolen goods is estimated to be nearly $4.2 million, which equates to nearly half of all the stolen goods recovered by the task force in 2023, officials said.

At the current rate, this year’s enforcement actions are set to “outpace” previous years, the governor’s office added.

“California will continue to lead more takedowns and make more arrests to keep our communities safe,” Newsom said in a statement. “It is through the coordinated efforts of our law enforcement partners that the state can keep shutting the door on this unacceptable crime.”

Since its inception in 2019, the organized task force has been involved in nearly 2,500 investigations which have led to the arrest of more than 2,500 suspects and the recovery of over 770,000 stolen items worth approximately $42.3 million, state officials said.

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