Legislators in Michigan have just passed Senate Bill 23, which authorizes prison time for porch pirates, or those who steal or intercept mail or packages.
The new bill was introduced by Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) and passed 106 to 3 in the House on Sept. 4. The new bill will make stealing mail or packages from property a crime.
“The initial issue was brought up to me by the Wayne County prosecutor that there were a lot of cases of mail theft that were occurring in Wayne County, especially in the suburban areas, that they couldn’t pursue,” Runestad told the Ann Arbor Times. “The reason for that is that mail theft is illegal on the federal level, but there’s no enforcement mechanism for the states to go after it.”
Runestad’s team talked with the postal inspector and local prosecutors and made a determination that Senate Bill 23 was the best move to hold porch pirates accountable.
The crime will be penalized with up to one year in prison and a $500 fine for the first offense, according to Michigan Votes. Second offense and onward are penalized with five years in prison and a $1,000 fine. The bill will now make its way to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to be signed into law.
Michigan saw a record-breaking number of mail and package thefts in 2019.
“It is exploding,” Runestad said. “Amazon alone, just Amazon, have over 17,000 ‘porch pirates’ steal off of the porch in Michigan alone.”
In 2018, the United States Postal Service arrested more than 2,000 people on suspicion of mail theft, according to its annual report for the year. State prosecutors were finding it particularly difficult to move forward on mail theft cases because federal laws only highlight theft of $10,000 or more, which most mail is not valued at.
Other states throughout the country have been making this a priority. States like Washington and Texas have already passed similar legislation and others have legislation in the works.
“Almost all the other states have bills they’re working on,” Runestad said. “It will be passing in all states.”
Alerts Sign-up