‘Porch Pirate’ Penalty Bill Heavily Amended Thursday Following Committee Passage

A bill that would reclassify ‘porch pirate’ thefts in California as mail thefts and punishable by fines and up to a year in prison was heavily amended on Thursday, only days after passing unanimously in the Senate Public Safety Committee.

Senate Bill 358, authored by Senator Brian Jones (R-Santee), would specifically expand state mail theft laws to apply to all package deliverers now, not only the United States Postal Service (USPS). While stealing a package would remain a misdemeanor under the new amended bill, it would be punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Steeper federal mail theft charges would not apply to any package thefts under the new law, except by those delivered by the USPS.

The original language of SB 358 centered it around unlawfully going on someone elses property to steal a package and making ‘porch piracy’ a possible felony charge following two other similar charges in a 36-month period. If tried as a misdemeanor, the charge could have been one year in prison. If it was a felony charge, it would have been up to three years.

In a statement to the California Globe, Senator Jones said that the bill was amended due to the original language not having enough votes to pass and that changing the definition to ‘mail theft’ would be the best option for passage.

“In discussions with the Committee Chair and other committee members, it was clear that the original version of SB 358 did not have the votes for passage,” said Senator Jones to the Globe on Friday. “We looked for a possible compromise and expanding the definition of ‘mail theft’ to also include packages and letters delivered by private carriers, was seen as the best option.  The new language does provide for additional penalties for people who steal packages and is a step in the right direction in combating serial porch pirates. While it might be a small step, it’s better than no step at all.”

Senator Jones noted Friday that more deterrents are still needed against “porch pirates” due to more Californians relying on deliveries for food and medicine, as well 30% of all package thefts nationwide occurring in California. The drastic rise in the number of porch pirate incidents since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020 also added to the need for greater punishments.