California: With new laws and 800 new arrests, CHP keeps taking down organized retail theft operations statewide
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Nov 4, 2025

With new laws and 800 new arrests, CHP keeps taking down organized retail theft operations statewide

What you need to know: Through the state's Organized Retail Crime Task Force, officials have made nearly 800 arrests, conducted over 500 investigations, and recovered over 150,000 stolen goods with an estimated retail value of $8.6 million in 2025.

SACRAMENTO – As the holiday shopping season approaches, Governor Gavin Newsom today highlighted how California's commitment to tackling organized retail theft statewide is showing results. Leveraging nation-leading new laws and years of state investments to combat crime, Governor Newsom today announced that this year, the state's Organized Retail Crime Task Force has made nearly 800 arrests, conducted over 500 investigations, and recovered over 150,000 stolen goods with an estimated retail value of $8.6 million.

In September, officials conducted 41 investigations, leading to 35 arrests and the recovery of more than 2,050 assets worth over $415,000. The retail value of the stolen assets recovered was up 67.5% from the month prior.

With every arrest and every stolen item seized, we are sending a message loud and clear: California does not tolerate organized retail theft. It's a message we've been sending for years. Through meaningful partnerships between state and local law enforcement, we are ensuring our communities are safer and that our businesses can keep thriving.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Led by the CHP, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force works with state, local, and federal partners to tackle retail crime statewide. Between the inception of this task force in 2019 and September 30, 2025, the CHP has been involved in over 4,050 investigations, leading to the arrest of nearly 4,600 suspects and the recovery of over 1.4 million stolen goods valued at approximately $60 million.

"Our success in combating organized retail crime is rooted in collaboration with our local law enforcement partners, retailers and the communities we serve," said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. "Together, we're protecting California businesses, holding criminals accountable, and helping restore a sense of safety and confidence for everyone who lives, works and shops in our state."

Taking down fencing operations in California

While officers work across the state to take down organized retail theft rings, in recent months, their efforts have resulted in several large busts in the Sacramento area.

During a significant operation targeting potential fencing stemming from a CVS/Walgreens investigation, CHP officers and the Sacramento Police Department worked together to serve a search warrant in September, recovering 655 items and returning them to the impacted retailers. A firearm was also seized.

During another notable operation in August, the task force learned of a potential fencing operation from an investigation into thefts from ULTA Beauty. CHP officers and the Sacramento Police Department served a search warrant and recovered a large quantity of suspected stolen retail merchandise. The value and item count for the suspected stolen retail merchandise are still being determined.

A fencing operation is a criminal enterprise that buys, sells, and redistributes stolen property for a profit. The word "fence" refers to the individual or entity that acts as a middle-person between thieves and the final buyers, allowing them to convert the stolen goods into cash.

Crime suppression teams increase public safety

With crime dropping statewide, the Governor announced the next phase of his crime-fighting efforts in July — deploying new CHP crime suppression teams to work directly with local law enforcement in major cities and regions across the state: San Diego, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Central Valley, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Bay Area. The work these officers do together every day is all in service to their communities and to improve public safety overall.

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Crime is down in California

California is delivering on its promises – significant investments in public safety help ensure safety in communities statewide, with lower crime rates in 2024.

According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, overall violent crime in major California cities is down 12.5% in 2025 compared to 2024. As evidenced by another data set released by the California Department of Justice, nearly every major crime category, including violent crime and homicides, dropped in 2024. Plus, California's 2024 homicide rate is now the second lowest it has been since at least 1966. The overall number of homicides decreased by nearly 12% since 2023. In addition, total full-time criminal justice personnel increased 1.9% from 2023 to 2024.

Investing in California's public safety

While Republicans in Congress pushed their "big beautiful betrayal" bill, cutting funding to vital public safety programs, California demonstrated what real public safety looks like: serious investments, strong enforcement, and real results.

California has invested $1.7 billion since 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California's 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.

In August 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 the state adapt to evolving criminal tactics, ensuring perpetrators are effectively held accountable.

In addition, as part of the state's largest-ever investment to combat organized retail crime, the Governor announced in 2024 that the state distributed $267 million to 55 communities to help local communities combat organized retail crime. These funds have enabled cities and counties to hire more police, make more arrests, and secure more felony charges against suspects. So far, from October 2023 to March 2025, state funding has resulted in the arrest of more than 22,100 suspects and the referral of nearly 17,100 cases for prosecution. Through this state-funded work, law enforcement agencies have been able to recover nearly $150 million in stolen property – with years still remaining on the grant cycle.

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