Protecting citizens from porch theft is important to the state of Florida

Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s been going on in the state.

An initiative protecting against retail theft and porch piracy is continuing.

Moody said, “I’ve been out there for two or three years now just building infrastructure, statewide prosecutors, law enforcement efforts we passed enhanced legislation about two years ago to strengthen our retail theft laws. So we really have in so many ways, Florida has been a national leader, but specifically when it comes to these trends we’re seeing in theft. Just last week with Governor DeSantis, we launched and announced a new legislative priority and initiative that would go after this trend we’re seeing on porch piracy. So it strengthens our retail theft laws, further enhances those but it hits on some of these other areas that you’re seeing flash across your TV screen every night. As eCommerce has picked up a lot of people have moved from more shopping in store to shopping online. Of course, our crime trends track that. Nearly half of Americans at some point in their life have had a package stolen from their porch. So it’s becoming more and more common. While we’ve always protected the mail, it’s always been a felony to steal from the mail, when that’s dropped off on the porch, thieves come right behind the couriers and then they take packages. You saw in Miami last week, a mother or a guardian, encouraged the child to go up and take a package from a porch. They have that on video. So what we’re trying to do is make sure that these laws are strong and also include stealing from a porch, and so it would increase that theft to a third degree felony.”

Additionally, 41% of Small Business retailers said the value of items stolen in 2023 has increased compared to previous years.

Moody said, “It’s important to remember that Florida doesn’t just with a sledgehammer come in and say, oh, we don’t like this, so we’re going to increase these penalties and think that that works. It’s not just about the penalties, you also have to come in and make sure you’re targeting the specific trends. So this new legislative proposal would go after those that use flash mob dash, where everybody rushes a store, distracts employees, everybody takes things and runs out into waiting cars. So it would go after that, that would be a third degree felony. If you use social media to organize that that would be a second degree felony. Third degree felonies in Florida face up to five years in prison. Second Degree felonies face up to 15 years in prison. But what I love about Florida is it’s never about just the law that we want to hit a particular crime trend. It’s never about just the penalty. It’s the follow up. It’s the enforcement, which is the crucial key to crime control. You have to have prosecutors that will prosecute, and you have to have law enforcement that’s given the support and tools necessary to go out and make arrests. That’s where Florida’s really strong, and we will follow through with this great legislation.”

That legislation is currently proposed in the legislature.

Moody said, “Just last week, I stood with law enforcement, small business owners, the legislators, Representative Rommel, that has proposed this, again, Florida is not immune from crime. We’re not immune from the trends that are taking hold nationally. But what we’re good at is recognizing those and trying to be proactive, which is why you’re seeing Florida really stand apart from other states, and why people are pushing each other out of the way trying to move into Florida. Because we understand that a free society, a free state, a free nation is only attainable if you respect the rule of law.”

Prosecution in porch theft is really important.

Moody said, “When you hear leaders around the nation, I almost pause and scratch my head, I think the Governor of California recently lamented that people were blaming him for retail theft. He said I don’t understand. We have one of the most strict retail theft laws in the country. Again, and this is where leaders missed the mark and why we’re so fortunate here in Florida, to have folks that understand truly the issue. It’s not just about your law, what they say and what the penalties are. It’s about empowering prosecutors and law enforcement to follow up and enforce the rule of law. The governor of California has never even met with all the sheriffs. The leaders of Florida, I meet with the sheriffs all the time, I’ll probably be on the on the horn with them multiple times throughout the day. I mean, it is a nuance that is important and leadership here in Florida gets it. We’re so proud of the state, so proud of our legislative leaders.”

Fentanyl and human trafficking are two other issues in discussions.

Moody said, “Just last week, we announced the state data on overdose deaths and the most recent year long data that we have on that in Florida. Fortunately, we’re seeing a slight dip in overdose deaths. By the way, that is different than the national trend which continues to skyrocket. One year we saw over 110,000 deaths nationally due to fentanyl. I would just encourage anyone listening, if you have ever struggled with substance abuse, if you can’t just say no, when Nancy Reagan first said those words back in the 80s, we only lost about and I say only that is a terrible thing ever with an overdose statistic, but the nation was losing approximately 3,000 a year. Now we’re up to over 110,000 a year and most of it’s due to fentanyl. So I would say if you’re struggling, just saying no, please get help. It’s never been more important, fentanyl is laced in every drug. Every drug we’re finding and seizing has fentanyl in it. So go to treatmentatlas.org and you can figure out where to start your journey. So many people have overcome the challenge. Now it is so important. One pill could kill.”

If you need help, please click here:  https://treatmentatlas.org/