By Lily Rusk
SACRAMENTO, CA – In 2024 California Highway Patrol recorded 717 arrests for retail crime, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom insists it’s a result of his initiative to reduce retail crime—including new measures to crack down on property crime and the state’s unprecedented police funding to local communities, including Orange, Riverside, Los Angeles and Bay Area counties.
Newsom, according to the governor’s office, this week said, “California continues to crack down on organized retail crime through coordinated efforts up and down our state. We’re taking down criminal enterprises in record numbers and securing accountability and justice for the businesses and communities hurt by these crimes.”
The governor claims the California Highway Patrol has recovered stolen items valued at nearly $45 million since its creation in 2019. Since then it has conducted 2,600 investigations, and made more than 2,800 arrests.
“Through collaborative efforts with retailers and our law enforcement partners, our dedicated task force continues to make incredible strides in combating organized retail crime throughout the state,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee.
In a statement issued by the governor’s office, Duryee added, “The CHP remains steadfast in our commitment to dismantling organized retail crime networks throughout California, ensuring those who prey on our businesses and communities are brought to justice.”
Since 2019, California has invested $1.1 billion to help local governments hire more police, said the statement, and in 2023 Newsom introduced an annual 310 percent increase in funding targeting organized retail crime and special operations across the state as a part of the Real Public Safety Plan.
This is the biggest increase in funding for investigating retail crime in state history according to the governor’s office.
Gov. Newsom said the state has distributed $267 million to 55 areas to combat organized retail crime, with the funds used to hire more police, make more arrests, and secure more felony charges against suspects.
Last year, the governor’s office reported, the state’s funding for organized retail crime included more than $38 million for Orange County, $41 million for Los Angeles County, $11 million for Riverside County, and over $43 million for the San Francisco Bay Area.
