The California Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF), led by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), has made significant strides in combating retail crime in 2024, surpassing enforcement totals from the previous year.
Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted the task force's effectiveness, noting the impressive number of arrests and recovered stolen goods.
In August alone, the task force facilitated 171 arrests and recovered 26,415 items of stolen property valued at $547,000.
The task force has also conducted 573 investigations up to the start of September 2024, exceeding the total from the entire previous year.
This intensive effort is part of Governor Newsom's comprehensive strategy to tackle organised retail crime.
Newsom said: “Month after month, the CHP’s tireless efforts to crack down on organised crime continue to yield results. 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.”
Since January, the task force has made 1,055 arrests and recovered more than $7.8m worth of stolen goods.
Since its inception in 2019, the CHP has been involved in 3,000 investigations, resulting in the arrest of more than 3,100 suspects and the recovery of 878,000 stolen items valued at nearly $46m.
Governor Newsom has invested $1.1bn since 2019 to tackle crime. The funding has helped local governments hire additional police and improve public safety.
In August, Newsom signed a comprehensive legislative package aimed at intensifying the crackdown on retail crime and property theft in the US state.
In 2023, the state distributed $267m to 55 local law enforcement agencies to combat organised retail crime.
These funds have been instrumental in increasing police hires, making arrests and securing felony charges against suspects.
In the first six months of the grant cycles, agencies reported more than 6,900 arrests for retail theft, motor vehicle theft and cargo theft offenses.
The California Highway Patrol has also reported a 310% increase in proactive operations targeting organised retail crime, with special operations across the state to enhance public safety.
