Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced a bill on Tuesday focused on combating retail theft in Florida by seeking increased penalties to discourage repeat offenders, adding to his tough-on-crime message.
“We understand this is an issue that is really negatively impacting places around our country,” DeSantis said. “We also want to make sure we continue to do things right here in Florida.”
Under the new bill, harsher penalties will be invoked on people who are caught stealing. If people commit retail theft with five or more others, DeSantis said that will be a third-degree felony offense, and it will be a second-degree offense if criminals use social media to get others to participate in retail theft. The bill would create a new criminal offense called aggregated retail theft, which would be a first-degree felony when a person commits the crime with a firearm or has two or more prior convictions for retail theft.
The Republican governor pointed to New York’s and California’s high retail theft in revealing plans to prevent increased crime in Florida.
DeSantis also wants to deter “porch pirates” by increasing penalties for those who steal packages from front doorsteps.
“If you commit a crime in Florida, you are going to be held accountable,” DeSantis said during a press conference at the Cape Coral Police Department. “We will not tolerate retail crime, porch pirates, and the lawlessness that they allow in California and New York.”
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DeSantis cited losses from retail crime increased to $112 billion in 2022, a number released by the National Retail Federation in September. The survey reported $93.9 billion in losses in 2021 and $90.8 billion in 2020.
DeSantis spoke alongside Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, and the sponsor of the bill, state Rep. Bob Rommel, in pledging to work together to combat retail theft.
