Organized Retail Crime Leads to Nearly 500

SACRAMENTO – Building upon the commitments made in his Real Public Safety Plan, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has made a record number of arrests and recovered millions in stolen goods so far this year.

Since January 2024, the CHP’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force has conducted 185 investigations, leading to 474 arrests and recovering more than 160,000 stolen goods valued at $4.2 million. That’s nearly half of all the stolen goods the task force recovered in 2023.

WHAT GOVERNOR NEWSOM SAID: “California will continue to lead more takedowns and make more arrests to keep our communities safe. It is through the coordinated efforts of our enforcement partners – police, sheriffs, and district attorneys – that the state can keep shutting the door on this unacceptable crime.”

“Keeping the public safe is at the heart of everything we do. These criminals have a negative impact on California’s businesses and our communities,” said CHP Deputy Commissioner Troy Lukkes. “We will continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners throughout the state and use every available resource to dismantle these criminal networks and hold them accountable for their actions.”

Since the inception of this task force in 2019, the CHP has been involved in nearly 2,500 investigations, leading to the arrest of more than 2,500 suspects and the recovery of over 770,000 stolen goods valued at $42.3 million.

California has invested $1.1 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California’s Real Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety