CAPE CORAL, Fla. — 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.
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"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.
Plus, it's a second-degree felony and up to 15 years in prison if they used social media to organize the theft.
If someone uses a firearm to rob a store, it's punishable up to 30 years in prison as a first-degree felony.
The new law also punishes porch pirates, the people who steal packages off of doorsteps.
If they steal anything less than $40 it's a first-degree misdemeanor, and the charges go up as the price of the item goes up.
"Maybe if the bad guys know that, hey, I'm not just going to go in and out of jail, you know, get booked in, get released the same night, I'm going to have to sit in jail for weeks, maybe even months or longer," said Routte.
However, right now, law enforcement is relying heavily on surveillance video to help bring justice to the crime.
"They live in our community, and you never know when you're going to recognize one of those photos and go, that's my neighbor, that guy lives down the street," said Routte. 'That kind of information is gold in helping law enforcement be able to locate and identify these people and put them in jail."
If you are a victim of one of these crimes, make sure to call 9-1-1 right away.
