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Utah bill would require jail time, hefty fine for porch pirates

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A Utah lawmaker is looking to set punishments for porch pirates.

Senate Bill 156, sponsored by Sen. Gene Davis (D-Salt Lake), creates the third-degree felony offense of delivered package theft and imposes penalties on thieves.

If convicted, individuals may be required to spend no less than 10 days in jail and be fined no less than $3,000.

“I don’t know… if that will last or not,” Davis said, “but I think overall the precept of the bill itself and trying to get at the root of porch piracy in the state of Utah will be addressed.”

Davis told 2News porch piracy is the number one complaint he hears about from people in his district.

The bill would mirror laws already on the books for people suspected of stealing from the United States Postal Service. It defines a porch pirate as someone who “takes, destroys, hides, or embezzles a delivered package from the porch, steps, or the vicinity of any entrance or exit of a dwelling” or “obtains by fraud or deception a delivered package from the porch, steps, or the vicinity of any entrance or exit of a dwelling.”

In 2019, a study found that porch pirates steal more packages in Salt Lake City than in almost any other U.S. city.

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