California’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force (ORCTF) recovered a whopping $13.5 million in stolen retail goods throughout the whole of 2024, according to Governor Gavin Newsom.
Led by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the statewide squad comprised of both state and local law enforcement groups conducted a record 879 investigations last year, leading to the arrest of 1,707 suspects and the recovery of 676,227 pilfered products.
ORCTF is continuing that momentum in 2025; during January and February, the task force conducted 136 investigations related to retail theft, leading to 209 arrests and the recovery of 24,510 stolen items worth an estimated nearly $2.2 million.
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With a notable escalation in retail theft and organized retail crime in recent years, the issue continues to threaten community safety as well as businesses, according to CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee.
“We are committed to identifying and dismantling these criminal networks, enhancing partnerships with retailers throughout the state, and deploying every available resource to prevent these crimes from happening,” he said.
One recent operation conducted in January through ORCTF’s Golden Gate Division led to the recovery of 1,619 items valued at $183,000 from a residence. After the seizure of stolen assets and collecting of evidence, the merchandise was returned to the retailers.
According to Newsom’s office, more than 3,600 investigations have been facilitated by CHP since the task force was established in 2019. In total, over 4,000 suspects have been apprehended and over 1.3 million stolen goods reclaimed—a recovery of almost $54 million in merchandise.
The escalation in organized retail theft enforcement has been bolstered by a massive grant program signed into law by the governor in 2023, which allowed $267 million to be funneled into 55 local law enforcement agencies throughout the following year for the funding of local task forces.
Local agencies have hired more officers, invested in technology like cameras and drones, and strengthened collaboration with local prosecutors using the money. Within six months of the grant cycles, recipient agencies reported over 6,900 arrests for retail, motor vehicle and cargo theft.
Adding to the 2025 tally of arrests and recoveries was an operation conducted by CHP’s Golden Gate Division in late February, in which stolen merchandise worth over $779,000 was discovered by officers investigating a suspected organized retail theft ring.
The culmination of an investigation launched last summer, the Feb. 27 bust took place at a home in Oakland as well as two nearby storage facilities—the second search at those locations in a six-month period. Police had long suspected a criminal network of targeting a number of businesses throughout the Bay Area and fencing the goods from the Oakland location.
Investigators arrested one suspect in conjunction with the crimes, charging her with Organized Retail Crime, Possession of Stolen Property, and Conspiracy to Commit a Crime.
Retail personnel helped officers identify and inventory the recovered merchandise, and the products were returned. CHP Golden Gate Division Chief Don Goodbrand commended the officers involved as well as the retailers for their cooperation.
“This achievement would not have been possible without the invaluable support of our retail industry partners, whose collaboration remains essential in protecting businesses and our communities from the impact of retail crime,” he said.
A massive ORCTF investigation led by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in February led officers to recover $4 million in stolen merchandise from retailers like Target, Nordstrom, Macy’s and TJ Maxx. In an announcement last week, LASD said a total of 17 retail locations were impacted, and those stores cooperated in the investigation that eventually led to the discovery of an illicit fencing business run out of a retail establishment.
