A bill that Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed into law yesterday creates a new criminal offense that is targeted at porch pirates…those individuals who steal home delivery packages. The bill creates a “theft by mail’ crime that applies to the unlawful taking, transfer or exercise of unlawful control over another individual’s mail, and that includes letters, packages and more. The penalties get stiffer with each additional offense depending on the value of the item that was taken. Pennsylvania now joins eight other states in having a porch piracy law. The law goes into effect in 60 days.
