CHP Recovers $8.1M In Stolen Goods; 1,123 Arrests Across CA

CALIFORNIA — California's organized retail crime task force is touting a staggering $8.1 million in recovered stolen items so far this year.

So far, 621 investigations led to 1,123 arrests and 269,992 stolen items seized, according to a Tuesday release from the state.

In September alone, 1,995 items worth more than $306,553 were recovered, the state said.

"The California Highway Patrol commends our retail theft investigation teams for their exceptional work in dismantling organized theft rings and protecting businesses across the state," said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee.

The task force, headed by the California Highway Patrol, was created amid growing pressure to crack down on petty theft and organized crime in California. Since it was created in 2019, the force has recovered $46 million in stolen goods.

Amid calls to address public safety in California and scrutiny from Republicans about the state's handling of crime, this year, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed bills such as AB 1960, which aims to address "smash-and-grab" retail and property crimes.

The law will impose steeper felony penalties for large-scale thefts and could mandate the courts to impose an enhanced sentence when suspects take, damage or destroy property over $50,000 while committing a felony.

Newsom signed 10 other public safety laws on Aug. 19, ranging from bills that crack down on theft from vehicles to a law that enacts sentencing enhancements.

On the Nov. 5 General Election ballot, voters will be asked to weigh in on Proposition 36, a crime-targeting measure endorsed by the California Republican Party that is opposed by some Democrats like Newsom. Some Democratic mayors from cities including San Francisco and San Diego support the measure.

If it passes, it would roll back some provisions of the controversial Proposition 47 passed a decade ago to reduce overcrowding in California's prison system.

READ MORE: CA Proposition 36: Increasing Penalties For Drug And Theft Crimes

Whereas Prop 47 reduced certain drug and theft crimes to misdemeanors, Prop 36 would make them felonies again, thereby increasing the sentences that go with them. Namely, fentanyl, possession and thefts under $950 could become felonies if the measure passes. In some cases, the shift would increase a defendant's jail sentence from a year in jail to as much as four years in prison.

"Prop. 36 takes us back to the 1980s, mass incarceration, it promotes a promise that can't be delivered," Newsom told ABC7 previously.

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