Porch Pirate Penalties Strengthen In NJ
NEW JERSEY — Porch pirates who plunder packages will face harsher punishments since Gov. Phil Murphy signed a new law.
The “Defense Against Porch Pirates Act” was passed in New Jersey’s Assembly 76-0-0 on Dec. 20. The Senate passed it on Jan. 10, 39-0. Murphy signed off on it on Jan. 18.
Package-snatching can now cost a New Jersey porch pirate between three and five years in prison, a fine up to $15,000, or both. Package theft was previously “graded as low as a disorderly persons offense to as high as a crime of the second degree,” according to a Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee statement on the legislation.
Under the new law, package-taking is now a third-degree crime.
About 210 million packages vanished from front porches throughout United States in 2021, the security company SafeWise reported in December.
The company also found that 54 percent of people they surveyed, planned to shop online more than they had in 2020. About 39 percent of people responded they had “packages delivered several times a week.”
About 72 percent said “the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more concerned about porch piracy,” according to SafeWise.
“People coming on to other people's property to steal their property has become a serious problem, particularly with the increase in online shopping and home delivery,” State Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Little Silver) — one of the bill’s co-sponsors — wrote in an email statement to Patch.
“Almost everyone you speak with lately seems to either have been a victim of package theft or knows someone who has,” O’Scanlon continued. “It's risen to such an alarming level, there was a bipartisan consensus that we needed to take action to significantly dissuade this practice.”
Prior to the amendment, most package thefts were treated as a fourth-degree crime, according to the committee's statement.
"Criminals were willing to take the slap on the wrist if they are apprehended with a low value package," said O'Scanlon.
Most residential packages average $500 or less in value. The former penalties were up to 18 months in prison or a fine up to $10,000 for a package valued between $200 and $500. A package valued under $200 was a disorderly persons offense, with a prison sentence up to six months, a $1,000 fine, or both.
The bill upgrades the penalties, with all packages dropped at homes — whether they are $75,000 or an undetermined amount — carrying the same third-degree penalties.
“We need a clear message sent to those far too many individuals who are willing to take the risk and commit this crime, that there are consequences severe enough to deter them,” O’Scanlon said. “No matter the monetary value of the stolen package they’re caught with.”
What To Do If A Porch Pirate Strikes
SafeWise suggests people first install a doorbell camera to keep record of who steps onto their porch.
If a package disappears, a person should file a police report.
They should next contact the package sender about the theft.
The person should also reach out to the carrier and file an online claim about the package’s disappearance.
See more information about porch piracy and tips from SafeWise here.
Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.
This article originally appeared on the Mendham-Chester Patch
