$7.8 million in stolen items recovered, over 1,000 arrests by California retail theft task force

A California task force formed to combat organized retail theft with enforcement operations has conducted nearly 600 investigations statewide leading to more than 1,000 arrests this year.

Operations by the California’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force, which formed in 2019, have led to 1,055 arrests and the recovery of more than $7.8 million worth of stolen merchandise, the Governor’s Office announced Wednesday in a news release.

In August alone, investigations led by the California Highway Patrol led to 171 arrests and the recovery of 26,415 stolen items.

“Month after month, the CHP’s tireless efforts to crack down on organized crime continue to yield results,” Gov. Gavin Neswom said in the news release. “The state has no plans on letting up soon and will continue its progress in protecting California’s businesses and communities while holding criminals to account.”

California retail theft ballot measure

Newsom’s announcement Wednesday comes as California voters decide whether to approve Proposition 36, a November state ballot measure that will undo a handful of criminal justice reforms that were approved by voters in 2014’s Proposition 47.

Prop. 47 reduced punishments for a handful of non-violent drug and theft crimes. The California law made most drug possession crimes a misdemeanor and raised the threshold for felony theft and forgery from $400 to $950.

Prop. 36, pushed for by a coalition of district attorneys from across the state and major retailers like Target and Walmart, would crack down on retail theft and fentanyl. Its supporters argue it would close gaps in the state’s sentencing rules to bring more accountability.

Newsom and other top Democrats are opposed to Prop. 36. After signing 10 bills to target retail thefts last month, Newsom said said Prop. 36 could take away funding — required under 2014’s Prop. 47 – for drug treatment and other programs. He also said Prop. 36 is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars in additional court cases. It does not contain a mechanism to fund the increased workload.

On Wednesday, Newsom’s office boasted his enforcement plan to combat retail theft statewide.

In the five years since the task force was created, the CHP has been involved in nearly 3,000 investigations, leading to 3,100 arrests and the recovery of over 878,000 stolen items worth nearly $46 million.

The Governor’s Office said Wednesday’s announcement demonstrates the success of Newsom’s Real Public Safety Plan, which focuses on strengthening local law enforcement response, ensuring perpetrators are held accountable and getting guns and drugs off the streets. The governor’s plan also included an increased deployment of CHP officers in Oakland, Bakersfield and San Francisco.

Last year, Newsom announced the state distributed $267 million to 55 local law enforcement agencies to help combat organized retail crime. The Governor’s Office said the money helped cities and counties hire more law enforcement officers, make more arrests, and secure more felony charges against suspects.

In the first six months of the state grants, local law enforcement agencies that received state retail crime funding reported more than 6,900 arrests for retail theft, motor vehicle theft and cargo theft offenses, according to Wednesday’s news release.

The Bee’s Nicole Nixon contributed to this story.