PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — “Porch pirates” will face increased penalties under a new Pennsylvania law signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro last week.
Pennsylvania state Sen. Frank Farry, a Bucks County Republican, is the prime sponsor of the bill. He said under current law, most package thefts go unreported. The ones that do result in arrests typically end with a summary offense — similar to a traffic ticket — because they are based on the value of the package.
Farry’s bill, which was signed into law last week, increases penalties for repeat offenders.
The first offense would be a summary charge if the value of the mail or package is under $200. For mail or packages valued over $200, or for a second offense, it would now be a misdemeanor. A third offense or theft of packages valued at more than $2,000 would be a third-degree felony.
Fellow Bucks County Republicans, state Reps. Kristin Marcell and K.C. Tomlinson, helped with a companion bill in the state House.
“Even with the overwhelming amount of security cameras out front of many homes, this issue remains a very big problem,” said Tomlinson. “Our hope is that with the increase in penalties that this bill includes, it will deter those individuals from continuing these criminal acts.”
The passage of the bill notably came right before the holidays.
“As we’ve come to depend on commerce by mail in this digital age, package theft is growing,” said Marcell, “and clearly the law as it’s written is not effective enough to stop this growing crime.”
Pennsylvania joins eight other states, including New Jersey, in making porch piracy a felony. The law goes into effect in mid-February, 60 days after it was signed into law.