California spent $267 million to combat retail crime; Newsom claims it’s working

CA committee tackles retail theft

The committee held its first hearing at the state capitol and aims to combat the rise in retail crime in California.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Organized retail crime is a major issue in California but state and local law enforcement agencies are making huge progress in combating the crime.

According to Governor Gavin Newsom's office, in the first 11 months of 2023, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) increased their operations against organized retail crime by over 310%, made more than 1,000 arrests, and recovered 187,515 stolen items.

To help combat the crime, California sent $267 million to 55 cities and counties to help increase arrests and prosecutions for organized retail crime. Newsom said earlier this year that this amount was the largest-ever single investment to combat organized retail crime in California history.

Source: Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

The Governor’s Real Public Safety Plan, which focuses on "strengthening local law enforcement response, ensuring perpetrators are held accountable, and getting guns and drugs off our streets," is supported by California’s 2023-24 budget, which includes more than $800 million in funding to improve public safety and crack down on retail crime.

"As reports of organized retail crime increase nationally, California is meeting the moment by leading more takedowns and making more arrests than ever before. I’m grateful for the CHP — along with our critical police, sheriff, and district attorney partners — for their continued efforts to leverage the state’s tools and unprecedented resources to crack down on this unacceptable crime," Gov. Newsom said.

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The complete data for 2023 won’t be available until next month, but the state says the data from the first 11 months of the year show that CHP’s efforts have greatly increased.

"These early results, which are a team effort, show California is headed in the right direction," CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee stated.

New committee working to address retail theft

State Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur chairs the new select committee.

Since 2019, CHP has investigated over 1,225 cases, arrested more than 1,800 people, and recovered nearly 500,000 stolen items valued at more than $21 million.