California’s Theft Crackdown Operations Netted 10,000 Arrests, More Surges Planned

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) swearing in new graduates during a ceremony at the West Sacramento CHP Academy in Sacramento, Calif., on July 13, 2024. Courtesy of California Highway Patrol

California took a bite out of organized retail theft last year, the result of grants awarded to law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices across the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday.

The grants were distributed in late 2023. In the first nine months of this year, local law enforcement agencies that received grants reported more than 10,000 arrests for theft offenses, according to a statement from the governor’s office on Oct. 28.

“Those numbers are meaningful,” Newsom said during a virtual press conference.

He called the competitive Organized Retail Theft Prevention grants—totaling $267 million—a “demonstrable example of the support the state has been providing for some time to our personnel across these agencies.”

$242 million was split between 31 city police departments and seven sheriffs’ departments across the state to address motor vehicle, property, and retail theft, according to the governor’s office.

Across the state, 13 district attorneys’ offices were awarded a total of $24.8 million—which facilitated charges against more than 1,600 organized crime suspects and 467 convictions, the statement said.

About $4 million in stolen goods was recovered by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Officials targeted multistate operations and criminal enterprises responsible for the theft of cargo.

Dozens of suspects were arrested in a “blitz operation” conducted by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, which recovered stolen vehicles, merchandise, and illegal narcotics.

Other agencies reported cases involving flash mob robberies, organized theft syndicates, and complex resale operations across the state.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney prosecuted 16 individuals, after investigations revealed multifaceted conspiracies to commit organized retail theft, in addition to “assault, kidnapping, torture, robbery, carjacking, criminal threats, drug trafficking,” and other crimes.

Statewide, thousands of suspects were arrested for theft crimes, including retail, cargo, and motor vehicle offenses.

Results Quantified

Reports released by the Board of State and Community Corrections in June quantified the results.

Nearly 6,800 arrests—for organized retail, motor vehicle/motor vehicle accessory theft, and cargo theft—were made in the first six months of the year, across 38 agencies, with slightly more than 5,800 cases referred for prosecution, according to a second-quarter update of the organized retail theft program.

The report said many grantees used the money to hire and train staff, improve data collection, and establish policies for new surveillance technologies.

A report from the corrections board on the vertical prosecution program targeting retail theft found that agencies are building partnerships with retailers and other stakeholders.

In the first six months after the grants were awarded, the grantees reported more than 16,000 theft cases filed, including more than 32,000 charges.

Convictions were obtained for more than 8,000 of those charges, the report said.

Of those convicted of organized theft, about 20 percent were sentenced to prison time, and nearly two-thirds received probation with jail.

Sean Duryee, commissioner of the California Highway Patrol, said the impact of retail theft is widespread.

“Retail theft crime is not a victimless crime,” he said during the press conference. “These crimes hurt our businesses, they hurt each of us as consumers, and they hurt the communities where these businesses are established.”

To those committing crimes, he said that officers are working around the clock to apprehend them.

“To the criminals who continue to engage in retail theft and victimize Californians, my message to you is: You, too, will become one of our statistics,” Duryee said. “Now, more than ever, law enforcement is better organized, [and] we’re better equipped to combat this issue in California.”

The commissioner asked the public to pay attention and to call 911 if they see a crime in progress.

“We need everybody’s help,” Duryee said. “Every time someone reports a retail crime in California, it dramatically assists our detectives and investigators on the task forces.”

Rising Crime

Finding accurate theft data is challenging due to the underreporting of crimes, according to lawmakers and analysts at the Public Policy Institute of California.

A recent report from the institute found that violent crime, shoplifting, and motor vehicle thefts are increasing in California.

The governor rejected the notion that criminal justice reforms—including voters’ passage of Proposition 47 in 2014 to reduce prison populations by changing some crimes from felonies to misdemeanors—are responsible for the rise in crime.

“These are national trends,” Newsom said in response to a question from The Epoch Times about what is driving the increases.

“It’s not unique to the policies necessarily, as one would often ascribe to a blue state versus a red state.”

He acknowledged that challenges remain but said a new package of laws signed in August will give prosecutors more tools.

“We’ve got a lot more work to do,” Newsom said.

Since taking office, the governor has overseen public safety investments of $1.1 billion to reduce crime and increase law enforcement staffing levels.

In 2022, the highway patrol launched a plan to employ 1,000 new officers—with more than 900 hired since then—and nearly 12,000 applications were received in the first six months of 2024, according to the governor’s statement.

“We’re going to hit that milestone very, very soon,” Newsom said during the press conference.

Increased patrols have resulted in the recovery of more than $8 million worth of stolen merchandise this year. More than $46 million worth of stolen goods were seized since the state’s retail crime task force was established in 2019.

Hot Spots

The governor also announced new surge operations in the city of San Bernardino to counter rising criminal activity in the area, with a focus on property theft and violent crimes.

Highway patrol officers will assist local law enforcement, as they have done recently in other crime “hot spots” such as Bakersfield, Oakland, and San Francisco.

San Bernardino’s homicide rate is more than three times California’s average, and the violent crime rate is approximately twice the average statewide.

Vehicles are stolen at one of the highest rates in the state, and local law enforcement reports high levels of traffic violations, street takeovers, and other behavior that jeopardizes public safety.

One city leader said the surge operation—which will include support on the ground and from the air—will help improve public safety by targeting gangs and other organized criminal activity.

“We are grateful to Governor Newsom for providing additional support from the California Highway Patrol to the City of San Bernardino,” Mayor Helen Tran said in a statement from the governor’s office announcing the operation. “With this new state and local collaboration in San Bernardino, we can continue to impact criminal enterprises targeting our neighborhoods and businesses.”

Interlinking Issues

Some law enforcement officials describe an interlinking nature in certain types of criminal activity and related issues.

“In terms of homelessness, theft, public safety, and drugs, there’s an interplay in that,” Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho told The Epoch Times.

He said mental health and drug addiction are driving forces behind some types of criminal behavior.

One lawmaker questioned the impact of pulling highway patrol officers to assist with local law enforcement efforts, saying it means that fewer officers are available to monitor speeding, reckless driving, and other violations that create dangerous situations in communities.

“We are compromising our enforcement ... by diverting a number of highway patrol to local retail theft operations,” state Sen. Roger Niello told The Epoch Times on Oct. 28.