SACRAMENTO, CA – California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week the state’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force recovered $13.5 million from 676,227 stolen goods found as a result of 879 investigations and 1,707 arrests in 2024.
The Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF), established in 2019, under the direction of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has led to the arrest of more than 4,000 suspects and recovery of $54 million worth from 1.3 million stolen goods, said Newsom in a statement.
The governor noted more than $1.1 billion in crime-fighting initiatives, with $267 million allocated directly to 55 local law enforcement agencies to help fight organized retail crimes, adding the funding mainly helps local governments improve public safety and increase police personnel.
“As public safety continues to be a priority for California, this ongoing retail theft crackdown shows the continuous work of our strengthened efforts on organized crime. I thank the California Highway Patrol for their work to protect and keep California communities safe,” said Newsom.
The initiative of ORCTF continues into 2025 with January and February operations yielding 136 retail theft investigations which led to 209 arrests. They recovered 24,510 stolen items, estimated to be worth nearly $2.2 million. In a notable January operation directed by CHP officers through the Golden Gate Division, CHP officers obtained 1,619 items valued to be worth over $183,000, Newsom said.
CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said the unit is “committed to identifying and dismantling these criminal networks, enhancing partnerships with retailers throughout the state, and deploying every available resource to prevent these crimes from happening.”
The success builds on momentum from 2023, when the CHP reported an annual 310 percent increase in operations targeting organized retail crime, and other special operations geared toward fighting crime and improving public safety, reported the governor in a statement.
So the state spent $1.1 billion and has thus far recovered $54 million.
Awesome!