California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Thursday that the state’s organized retail theft crackdown has recovered $8 million in stolen goods during the first seven months of the year.
The California Highway Patrol-led Organized Retail Crime Task Force conducted 415 investigations that led to 706 arrests and the return of nearly 150,000 stolen goods.
“We are serious about stomping out crime rings that target California’s businesses and undermine public safety,” Newsom said in a statement. “We appreciate the work of our law enforcement partners statewide to apprehend these bad actors.”
Retail crime has become an epidemic in California, with businesses closing up shop after the 2014 passage of Proposition 47, a referendum that critics claimed gave shoplifters the green light to commit crimes as long as what they stole was less than $950 in value. The decision to downgrade theft of property valued below the arbitrary figure from felony to misdemeanor, coupled with the decision to focus on more “serious” crimes, led to people brazenly shoplifting from merchants because they knew they probably wouldn’t be prosecuted.
That led to a decade of outrage and stores going out of business or, in some cases, locking up almost every item on the floor.
Last year, frustrated Californians overwhelmingly voted for Proposition 36, a ballot measure that strengthened penalties for people who have repeatedly been convicted of shoplifting or caught using and dealing hard drugs such as fentanyl.
Newsom also signed 10 new laws designed to decrease property theft. The legislation addressed retail theft from several angles, making it easier to catch, prosecute, and punish shoplifters.
Armed with more power, the ORCTF, which works with state, local, and federal partners to tackle retail crime statewide, ramped up its efforts. Since its inception in 2019, task force teams statewide have recovered more than 1.4 million items of stolen merchandise, valued at nearly $60 million.
“Organized retail crime doesn’t just impact businesses, it threatens the safety and stability of our communities,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said in a statement. “The California Highway Patrol is committed to holding offenders accountable and working with our law enforcement partners across the state to stop these crimes at their source.”
The governor’s office highlighted one notable operation last month in Northern California.
The Task Force learned about a “prolific crew” targeting stores such as Lululemon, American Eagle, Abercrombie, Hollister, Alo Yoga, and Victoria’s Secret. Through coordination with the Sacramento Police Department, Placer District Attorney’s Office, and Roseville Police Department, officers arrested four individuals, seized an unserialized assault rifle, and identified over 1,200 stolen retail products valued at more than $92,000.
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Despite recent success stories like the one in Northern California, shoplifting remains a problem in the state.
“With a 13.8% increase in 2024, shoplifting is up by 47.5% compared to 2019,” Magnus Lofstrom, policy director of criminal justice and a senior fellow at Public Policy Institute of California, recently said. “Combining reported shoplifting and commercial burglary incidents shows that retail theft increased by 3% in 2024 and is now 22.8% higher than in 2019.”