California retail theft crackdown yields surge in investigations, arrests

California's retail crime task force is surpassing 2023 enforcement totals amid a surge in arrests and cases investigated, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.

The state's Organized Retail Crime Task Force led by the California Highway Patrol has reached 573 investigations so far in August, topping the total number of retail theft investigations in 2023, the Governor's Office said. The number of arrests in 2024 has surpassed 1,000, with 171 arrests last month and over 26,000 stolen items worth more than a half-million dollars recovered, the office said.

Most of the stolen items recovered last month came from a bust of a fencing operation based in a home in Oakland where the CHP task force recovered merchandise stolen from drug stores valued at over $450,000.

According to the Governor's Office, since January the task force has recovered over $7.8 million worth of stolen goods. Newsom began the CHP retail theft task force in 2019 in Southern California and later expanded it to the Bay Area and other parts of the state.

Since its inception, the task force has conducted nearly 3,000 investigations, arrested more than 3,100 suspects, and recovered over 878,000 stolen goods valued at nearly $46 million.

"Month after month, the CHP's tireless efforts to crack down on organized crime continue to yield results," said Newsom in a prepared statement. "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."

In August, Newsom signed a package of bills targeting organized retail theft and other property crimes that include stricter punishments for repeat offenders . Earlier this month, Newsom signed a bill that would bring stiffer penalties for smash-and-grab retail thefts resulting in major damage to businesses.

Among those charged and convicted of retail theft this year is the leader of a retail theft ring that stole $8 million in beauty products from stores across California , with items resold on the ringleader's Amazon marketplace website.