The Californer - California continues aggressive fight against organized retail theft, recovering nearly 0 million in stolen merchandise

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Jun 4, 2026

California continues aggressive fight against organized retail theft, recovering nearly $260 million in stolen merchandise

Governor Newsom's largest-ever investment to combat organized retail theft continues to deliver results statewide

What you need to know: Governor Newsom announced significant new progress in California's ongoing effort to combat organized retail theft, reporting 32,613 arrests, 25,843 cases referred for prosecution, and nearly $260 million in recovered stolen goods since October 2023, all stemming from the state's historic public safety investments.

SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced significant new progress in California's ongoing effort to combat organized retail theft, with law enforcement agencies reporting 32,613 arrests, 25,843 cases referred for prosecution, and nearly $260 million in recovered stolen goods since October 2023 because of the state's investments.

The results stem from Governor Newsom's organized retail crime and vertical prosecution grants — record-breaking public safety investments that were awarded to cities and counties to disrupt organized criminal networks, support local law enforcement, and strengthen accountability for retail theft offenders.

Public safety starts with accountability. Over the last two years, we've made the largest investment in state history to combat organized retail theft, giving local law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to dismantle criminal networks, recover stolen property, and keep our communities safe. The results speak for themselves: tens of thousands of arrests, thousands of cases headed to prosecution, and nearly $260 million in stolen goods recovered.

Governor Gavin Newsom

In 2023, Governor Newsom launched the largest-ever state investment to combat organized retail theft, awarding more than $242 million to 38 local law enforcement agencies through the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC). The funding supports dedicated enforcement teams, investigative technology, regional operations, partnerships with retailers, and additional personnel focused on organized retail crime.

The investment is producing measurable results. In the most recent reporting quarter alone, agencies arrested 3,553 suspects and referred 2,947 cases for prosecution.

"California's investment in combating organized retail theft continues to pay dividends," said BSCC Board Chair Linda Penner. "The grants provide local law enforcement agencies with the resources needed to investigate complex criminal operations, resulting in thousands of arrests, increased case referrals for prosecution, and the recovery of millions of dollars in stolen property."

Local law enforcement delivering results statewide

State-funded operations continue to dismantle organized theft rings and recover stolen merchandise:

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department recovered approximately $4 million in stolen cargo freight tied to multiple major retailers, including Foot Locker, Epson, and Ulta.
The Costa Mesa Police Department recovered approximately $150,000 in stolen merchandise, fragrances, and cash through an investigation targeting online resale activity, while a separate operation recovered stolen Lululemon merchandise following a theft at South Coast Plaza.
The Bakersfield Police Department arrested four suspects linked to multiple theft incidents targeting retailers including Ulta, Nordstrom Rack, Target, and PetSmart.
The San Jose Police Department conducted 29 organized retail theft enforcement operations during the reporting period, resulting in 72 arrests and criminal citations.

Dedicated prosecutors ensuring accountability

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California is also investing in prosecution efforts to ensure organized retail theft cases are successfully brought to court.

Through a separate $24 million vertical prosecution grant program, BSCC has provided funding to 13 district attorneys' offices to support prosecutors who handle organized retail theft cases from investigation through conviction. The model strengthens coordination between investigators, retailers, victims, and prosecutors while improving case outcomes.

Grant-funded prosecutors secured 2,615 theft-related convictions, an increase of nearly 18 percent over the previous quarter. Of those convictions:

910 were directly tied to organized retail theft
772 were felony convictions
Nearly 85 percent of organized retail theft convictions resulted in felony accountability

Local prosecutors delivering results

Examples of successful local prosecution efforts include:

The Placer County District Attorney's Office reported more than $600,000 in recovered stolen property in 2025 through its dedicated Retail Theft Initiative.
The Humboldt County District Attorney's Office expanded coordinated anti-theft operations with local law enforcement during the holiday shopping season while maintaining dedicated vertical prosecution resources.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office convened more than 150 retailers, loss prevention professionals, prosecutors, and law enforcement partners to strengthen regional strategies targeting organized retail theft.

Historic state investment to support local communities

In total, California has invested more than $267 million across 55 communities to combat organized retail theft and property crime, helping local agencies hire officers, deploy new technologies, investigate criminal networks, and prosecute offenders.

Through the California Highway Patrol's (CHP) Organized Retail Crime Task Force – a collaborative effort with local law enforcement agencies and retailers – the state is also focused on delivering major public safety results across California. Through coordinated CHP operations with local law enforcement and retailers, the Task Force has now conducted more than 4,500 investigations, arrested more than 5,100 suspects, and recovered more than 1.6 million stolen items valued at over $74.6 million since 2019.

The effort is part of Governor Newsom's broader public safety strategy, which has included historic support for local law enforcement, targeted retail theft enforcement operations, CHP surge deployments, and strengthened tools to combat organized criminal activity throughout California.

In 2024, Governor Newsom 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 offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries. While California's crime rate remains at near-historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.

Crime rates continue to drop

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The enforcement results come as California continues to see encouraging statewide crime trends. Preliminary 2025 FBI data from California law enforcement agencies covering 83% of the population show additional declines from 2024:

Violent crime down 9.94% from 2024
Property crime down 14.35% from 2024
Murder down an 16.51% from 2024
Continued declines in burglary and larceny-theft from 2024

This crime data is aggregated by the FBI based on reporting from local law enforcement agencies, as well as more complete data taken directly from several larger agencies. If current trends hold, California could see its lowest homicide rate ever recorded once final statewide 2025 data are released.

This recent progress is on top of significant crime declines shown in the 2024 Crime in California report, which showed that property crime and burglary rates in 2024 reached their lowest levels in CA DOJ data dating back to 1969, while overall theft reached the second-lowest level ever recorded:

Violent crime down 2.1% from 2023
Property crime down 8.4% from 2023

The state's aggressive enforcement strategy against organized retail crime is helping drive broader public safety gains across the state.

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