BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Some new laws aimed at making Vermonters safer hit the books on July 1. They include protections for car owners and increased penalties for retail thieves.
After growing concerns over the last few years about retail theft throughout the state, lawmakers made changes to deter repeat offenders.
Kelly Devine, who leads the Burlington Business Association, calls it a starting point.
“We are glad something got passed. It does at least acknowledge that we have a real issue with repeat offense-types of retail crime,” Devine said.
Those charged with retail theft a second time now face a $1,000 fine or up to two years in jail if it’s committed within two years of the first offense.
“Repeat convictions has escalating consequences or penalties,” Rutland County State’s Attorney Ian Sullivan said. “The new law recognizes that multiple small thefts have a similar harm to a single large theft, and takes a cascading stepping up of penalties for repeated convictions for low-level retail thefts.”
While retail theft has been a consistent concern, so has car theft. A new law helps prosecutors like Sullivan hold crooks accountable by adding new protections for car owners.
“If it’s not your car, you know, it’s not your car. You don’t have permission to be in the car. It’s unlawful to go into the car,” Sullivan said.
Before July 1, there was no law against someone being in your car without your permission.
“The new law creates a low-level offense, but it does provide an opportunity for law enforcement to intervene and for the criminal legal system to make referrals to mental health or substance abuse-related services which are frequently a root cause of some of those behaviors,” Sullivan said.
There are also new rules when it comes to bail. Previously, most low-level misdemeanors had a $200 cap for bail. Now, if someone has a pending charge or conditions and gets a new charge, the cap no longer applies.
“Meaning that some of the folks who regularly blow off or pick up a lot of low-level offenses– in the past judges could only impose $200 bail. Now, they can impose bail that matches their actual risk of flight from prosecution,” Sullivan explained.