EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced 14,133 referrals for prosecution in the first year of the state’s organized retail theft and vertical prosecution grants.
Proposed by Newsom and distributed by the Board of State and Community Corrections from October 2023 to December 2024, the grant funding of $267 million to 55 communities has enabled cities and counties to hire more police and secure more felony charges against suspects, according to the governor's office.
"As we continue investing in public safety, we keep seeing strong, positive results — more officers, more crime deterrents and more case prosecutions," Newsom said in a statement. "Our commitment to our neighborhoods is paying off."
According to program participants, of the 14,133 case referrals for prosecution:
- 10,932 were for organized retail theft
- 3,161 were for motor vehicle theft
- 40 were for cargo theft
Of the 1,150 people convicted of theft-related property crimes, 373 of those related to organized retail theft. Of those organized retail theft convictions, 88% were felonies.
The organized retail theft grant program is made up of two separate, competitive three-year grants: prevention and vertical prosecution. The prevention grant provided 38 law enforcement agencies with more than $242 million in funding for purchasing new equipment, launching enhanced enforcement operations, hiring new staff and establishing partnerships with the retail community.
Vertical prosecution refers to a model that allows a prosecutor to focus on a case from beginning to end.
Newsom recently announced that the state's Organized Retail Crime Task Force has been involved in more than 3,700 investigations, leading to the arrest of approximately 4,200 suspects and the recovery of over 1.3 million stolen goods valued at more than $56 million.