Retail theft crackdown in 2024 recovers $13.5 million in stolen goods

Spearheaded by the California Highway Patrol, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force in January and February 2025 focused on 136 retail theft investigations leading to 209 arrests while recovering 24,510 stolen items worth an estimated nearly $2.2 million.  

“Organized retail crime threatens the safety of California’s communities and its businesses,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “We are 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.”

During a notable operation in January through the Golden Gate Division, CHP officers executed a search warrant on a residence, resulting in the recovery of 1,619 items valued at over $183,000. Every seizure is cataloged and photographed, and if the retailer it was taken from can be identified, it is returned as soon as possible. 

Since the inception of this task force in 2019, the CHP has been involved in over 3,600 investigations, leading to the arrest of more than 4,000 suspects and the recovery of over 1.3 million stolen goods valued at nearly $54 million.

Stronger enforcement. Serious penalties. Real consequences.

Governor Newsom this summer signed into law the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history. Building on the state’s robust laws and record public safety funding, these bipartisan bills establish tough new penalties for repeat offenders, provide additional tools for felony prosecutions, and crack down on serial shoplifters, retail thieves, and auto burglars.

During the holiday season, the CHP conducted proactive and confidential law enforcement operations with allied agencies — keeping more shoppers, merchants, and retail districts safe. 

Local support to fight organized retail crime

Governor Newsom has invested $1.1 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. Today’s announcement demonstrates the success of the Governor’s Real Public Safety Plan – which focuses on strengthening local law enforcement response, ensuring perpetrators are held accountable, stopping retail theft and getting guns and drugs off our streets, including by increased deployment of California Highway Patrol to hot spots such as Oakland, Bakersfield, San Francisco, and San Bernardino.

The Governor announced that last year the state distributed $267 million to 55 local law enforcement agencies to help communities combat organized retail crime. These funds have enabled cities and counties to hire more police, make more arrests, and secure more felony charges against suspects. In just the first six months of the grant cycles, local law enforcement agencies that received the grants reported more than 6,900 arrests for retail theft, motor vehicle theft, and cargo theft offenses.

In 2023, the California Highway Patrol reported an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.