Tipsheet

Gavin Newsom Bragged About His Organized Retail Crime Task Force, but There's a Big Problem

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  July 23, 2026 1:00 PM

California Gov. Gavin Newsom really tries to paint himself as a bold, visionary leader. But if you pay attention to his state, you see it's a major dumpster fire, and sometimes literally. Just yesterday, Townhall reported how Newsom said—with a straight face—that his state was a model for the globe on fire management.

It's a cautionary tale, maybe, but not a model.

Now Newsom is trying to take a victory lap on his Organized Retail Crime Task Force, bragging it's recovered $76.2 million in stolen goods, including $6.2 million.

There are several problems with this, of course.

First, there's the math. California taxpayers have spent $2 billion on combatting retail crime.

That means the $76.2 million recovered is less than four percent of what was spent fighting it.

Also, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported in 2021 that California retail crime has cost businesses about $19.1 billion overall, including $3.4 billion in lost tax revenue. 

In 2022 alone, it was estimated that businesses lost $8.7 billion to retail theft, with some annual estimates saying they've lost $13-20 billion each year.

So the $76.2 million recovered is a drop in the bucket compared to the billions retailers have lost.

Yes. And California Democrats made retail theft under a certain amount a misdemeanor. They encouraged this.

Californians voted in 2024 on Proposition 36, a tough-on-crime measure to help stop things like this. Newsom was not happy about it, and even though the measure passed, Democrats have not funded it, rendering it moot.