When you order something online, you expect it to arrive safely, and to actually get your package. Come October 1, harsher penalties for those pesky porch pirates and retail store thieves are coming to Florida.
“Maybe having them in jail a little bit longer, we’ll give them a little more time to contemplate the direction that their lives are headed in,” said Trish Routte, spokesperson for SWFL Crime Stoppers.
Routte says they see retail store theft and porch piracy almost every day.
Watch Bella’s full report below.
GOODBYE PORCH PIRATES: Theft penalties increase in Florida starting October 1
“We see it quite often at some of our retail stores, where you’ve got a group of people that are going in there, and they’re all working in cahoots with one another,” said Routte. “One’s a lookout while, you know, two others are bagging up perfume and makeup and high dollar things in the store.”
Under Governor Ron Desantis’ new law (HB 549) , if a group of 5 or more people commits retail theft it is punishable up to 5 years in prison as a third-degree felony.