On Thursday, March 10, 2016, the Senate Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to take action on legislation that would increase the felony threshold amount contained in a number of the Commonwealth’s property crime statutes. Senate Bill 2156, an Act relative to larceny, seeks to increase the property value threshold of $250 to $1,500 in the state’s larceny, use of fraudulent credit card, receipt of stolen property and destruction of personal property statutes.
This dramatic increase allows for the theft or destruction of higher valued property with less consequence for the offender. Misdemeanor crimes result in a court summons; felonies result in arrests. If the felony threshold is raised to $1,500, a thief could steal $1,499 worth of goods from your home or business and officers would not be able to arrest them. This bill affects not only shoplifting from national retailers, but thefts from small businesses, residential and commercial burglaries, car breaks and vandalism. Danvers Police Chief Patrick Ambrose said, “With the current opioid epidemic, this is only going to encourage more thieveries throughout the community.” Passing this bill will bind the hands off law enforcement officers across the Commonwealth trying to combat organized retail crime, burglary crews, and addicts stealing to support their habit.
The Danvers Police Department strongly urges you to contact your local representatives and voice your opposition to this bill as currently written. The Retail Association of Massachusetts has created a form to facilitate contact with your representatives, which can be found here: https://retailersma.org/advocacy-action-center?vvsrc=%2fCampaigns%2f45055%2fRespond