Golden State Today

Governor Gavin Newsom has announced that the California Highway Patrol's Organized Retail Crime Task Force will intensify its operations during the holiday season. This move builds on a successful year of investigations, which have resulted in over 1,200 arrests since January. The task force, established in 2019, has recovered more than $47.4 million in stolen items.

“California continues to crack down on organized crime," said Governor Newsom. "The CHP officers facilitating this effort are hard at work each day and will continue to protect and serve California’s consumers through the holiday season – including the upcoming Black Friday shopping sprint.”

CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee highlighted the task force's achievements: “Through our unwavering dedication and collaboration, the Organized Retail Theft Task Force has established a new standard in combating theft, achieving record-breaking results in investigations, arrests, and asset recovery.” He emphasized that as the holiday shopping season approaches, efforts to enforce California’s organized retail crime laws will be intensified.

During this period, proactive law enforcement operations will be conducted with allied agencies across California to ensure safety for shoppers and merchants while targeting retail criminals. Regional teams from Southern California to Sacramento are working with retailers and local law enforcement to dismantle criminal networks involved in organized retail crime.

Since its inception, the task force has conducted over 3,000 investigations leading to more than 3,300 arrests and recovering stolen goods valued at $47.4 million. In October alone, their efforts resulted in 56 criminal investigations and nearly 26,000 recovered items.

Governor Newsom also signed significant bipartisan legislation this summer aimed at curbing property crime by establishing tougher penalties for repeat offenders. The state has invested $1.1 billion since 2019 to enhance public safety by supporting local law enforcement agencies.

Last year saw a notable increase of 310% in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime by the CHP across California.