Continuing to prioritize local and state partnerships to keep Californians safe, state officials recently announced significant accomplishments in battling organized retail theft and prosecuting criminals for their actions. Between October 2023 and March 2025, state-funded local law enforcement operations 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.
Governor Gavin Newsom noted that California “continues to put the safety of its communities first through strategic investments and partnership with local law enforcement agencies to crack down on organized retail theft.”
The funding has provided 38 law enforcement agencies with over $242 million in funding for purchasing new equipment, launching enhanced enforcement operations, hiring new staff, and establishing partnerships with the retail community.
Proposed by Governor Newsom and distributed by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), the grants have proved to be critical in supporting law enforcement and the retail community.
“The ORT grants have provided critical resources that enable our law enforcement partners to implement strategic, coordinated responses to combating organized retail theft,” said BSCC Board Chair Linda Penner. “These efforts are producing measurable results, strengthening public safety, and supporting the local retail economies with statewide success.”
As reported by grantees, law enforcement was able to recover nearly $150 million in stolen goods from October 2023 to March 2025. Notable highlights include:
Modesto Police Department along with local businesses and law enforcement partners, including Vertical Prosecution Grantee Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, conducted an organized retail theft operation that resulted in 28 arrests.
Ventura County Sheriff’s Department stopped a cargo theft crew that had stolen $500,000 worth of trucks, trailers, and high-value cargo. Working in partnership with other agencies, this led to the recovery of $1.5 million in stolen goods, narcotics, firearms, and cash.
San Jose Police Department arrested three individuals for a variety of offenses, including kidnapping, torture, and robbery. In the course of their investigation, it was revealed that one subject was also the primary suspect in a major organized retail theft ring that was being investigated by another grantee, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
Roseville Police Department developed key partnerships within the retail community through communication and officer presence that has had a significant impact in reducing retail theft, including at the Westfield Galleria. In conjunction with the Santa Clara Police Department and Placer County District Attorney’s Office, they recently recovered $50,000 worth of personal care items.
In addition, the BSCC has also provided over $24 million to 13 district attorneys’ offices through a vertical prosecution grant program that allows the same prosecutors to focus on a case from beginning to end, providing victims and law enforcement a single point of contact. Although independent of the prevention grant outcomes, 1,524 people were convicted of theft-related property crimes; of those, 528 convictions were related to organized retail theft. Nearly 90 percent of the organized retail theft convictions were felonies.
Notable highlights include:
Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has identified and charged an individual responsible for $30,000 of product theft from Ulta stores in the county, as well as additional $18,000 of losses from surrounding counties. The office is also prosecuting an individual who used others to steal on his behalf. In turn, the individual utilized digital marketplaces to sell hundreds of tools, hardware, and appliances from Home Depot. The investigative team is embedded at the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Office High Impact Team for coordinated operations.
In total, $267 million in grant funding to 55 communities have enabled cities and counties to hire more police and secure more felony charges against suspects.
New data released by the California Department of Justice shows that in 2024, nearly every major crime category declined, including violent crime, property crime, homicides, aggravated assaults, motor vehicle theft, burglary, and robbery. The 2024 homicide rate is now the second lowest since at least 1966. The overall number of homicides decreased by nearly 12 percent since 2023. In addition, total full-time criminal justice personnel increased 1.9 percent from 2023 to 2024.
California has invested $1.6 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 percent increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations across the state to fight crime and improve public safety.
Last August, 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.
