California recovered 113,245 stolen items worth nearly $6.5 million so far this year as a result of a crackdown on organized retail theft, Governor Gavin Newsom announced last week.

From January to May, the state’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force conducted 331 investigations, 629 arrests, and recovered 113,245 stolen items.

In May alone, data showed arrests were up almost 130 percent, stolen assets recovered were up 65 percent, and the value of recovered items was up nearly 49 percent from April.

Spearheaded by the California Highway Patrol, the Organized Retail Crime Task Force, through coordination with local law enforcement agencies and other partners, has been involved in over 3,800 investigations, resulting in the arrest of more than 4,400 suspects and the recovery of nearly 1.4 million stolen goods, valued at over $58 million since 2019, the governor said.

Organized retail crime enforcement has gone up in all areas in May:

• 120 Investigations — up 131 percent
• 246 Arrests – up 130 percent
• 72,454 stolen assets recovered – up 66 percent
• $2,046,084 in assets recovered – up 49 percent

Part of a coordinated national organized retail crime blitz held between May 26 through 30, the CHP conducted high-visibility enforcement operations throughout the state – arresting 90 individuals, recovering nearly $153,000 worth of stolen merchandise, and identifying multiple suspects linked to organized crime rings operating in and beyond California.

“Retail theft doesn’t stop at state lines—and neither do we,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “By working together with our law enforcement partners and retailers nationwide, we are sending a clear message: if you come to California to steal, we will be here to stop you.”

The blitz, coordinated out of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, coordinated an effort across 28 states to seize stolen vehicles, narcotics, weapons and other goods.

These efforts reinforced the importance of intelligence sharing, real-time coordination, and proactive enforcement in deterring retail theft, officials said.