{"id":10146,"date":"2020-06-10T16:50:13","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T20:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/?p=10146"},"modified":"2024-04-09T19:36:13","modified_gmt":"2024-04-09T23:36:13","slug":"felony-thresholds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/2020\/06\/10\/felony-thresholds\/","title":{"rendered":"How inflation makes your state’s criminal justice system harsher today than it was yesterday"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each state sets a statutory definition of which thefts are felonies (punishable by longer sentences in prison) and which are misdemeanors (punishable by shorter sentences in jail). But in many states, the dollar amount separating felony theft from misdemeanor theft has not been increased in years, even though inflation makes the older laws more punitive each year.<\/p>\n

These limits vary from New Jersey (a $200 theft is a fourth-degree felony) to Texas and Wisconsin where a theft must be worth $2,500 before you can get a state prison sentence. New Jersey’s limit is so low because it is one of the oldest in the country — it remains unchanged from when it was originally enacted in 1978.1<\/a><\/sup> Only one state — Alaska — automatically adjusts the felony theft threshold with inflation.2<\/a><\/sup> The range between the states is tremendous:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Table showing felony theft thresholds in each state as of 2018. For more detail including the amount of the previous threshold for most states, see the appendix table<\/a> below. *The exact year of the last update to the felony theft threshold in each state was not readily available for all states, but Pew Charitable Trusts’ 2018 article<\/a> reports that that the felony theft threshold in these states predate the year 2000.
\n<\/caption>\n
State<\/th>\nFelony Theft Threshold<\/th>\nYear Threshold Last Updated<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Alabama<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alaska<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arizona<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2006<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arkansas<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
California<\/td>\n$950 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Colorado<\/td>\n$2,000 <\/td>\n2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Connecticut<\/td>\n$2,000 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Delaware<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
District of Columbia<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Florida<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2019<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Georgia<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2012<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hawaii<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Idaho<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Illinois<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Indiana<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Iowa<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kansas<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kentucky<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Louisiana<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2017<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maine<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maryland<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Massachusetts<\/td>\n$1,200 <\/td>\n2018<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Michigan<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Minnesota<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2007<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mississippi<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Missouri<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Montana<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nebraska<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nevada<\/td>\n$650 <\/td>\n2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Hampshire<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Jersey<\/td>\n$200 <\/td>\n1978<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Mexico<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n2006<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New York<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
North Carolina<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
North Dakota<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ohio<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oklahoma<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oregon<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pennsylvania<\/td>\n$2,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rhode Island<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2012<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Carolina<\/td>\n$2,000 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
South Dakota<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2005<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tennessee<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Texas<\/td>\n$2,500 <\/td>\n2015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Utah<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vermont<\/td>\n$900 <\/td>\n2006<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Virginia<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2020<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Washington<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
West Virginia<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wisconsin<\/td>\n$2,500 <\/td>\n2001<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wyoming<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2004<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Updating felony theft statutes is one simple way to reduce the number of people serving time in prison for low-level offenses. Making more minor thefts into misdemeanors will also spare more people from the often lifelong collateral consequences of felony convictions that can limit their access to public housing, welfare benefits, and even voting. <\/p>\n

Decreasing the punishment for minor thefts<\/span> is unlikely to encourage more thefts. As Pew Charitable Trusts found in their invaluable 2018 report, States Can Safely Raise Their Felony Theft Thresholds, Research Shows<\/a>, South Carolina’s property crime rates actually continued to fall years after the threshold increased. This isn’t unique to South Carolina, either. Pew’s article also included a brief comparison of crime rates in all 50 states, reporting that between 2000 and 2012, the 30 states that increased their thresholds had property crime rates similar to the 20 states that had not yet updated their laws.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Footnotes<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    See New Jersey Statute 2C:20-3 (Chapter 95, Laws of 1978)  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    See Alaska Statute 11.46.982.  ↩<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Appendix table<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    This table was built from The Effects of Changing Felony Theft Thresholds<\/a> (2017) and States Can Safely Raise Their Felony Theft Thresholds, Research Shows<\/a> (2018) by Pew Charitable Trusts and supplemented with additional research by the Prison Policy Initiative for Florida and Virginia which changed their laws after Pews’ reports, as well as New Jersey and Wisconsin, for which we found the year the threshold was last updated. *The exact year of the last update to the felony theft threshold in each state was not readily available for all states, but Pew Charitable Trusts’ 2018 article<\/a> reports that that the felony theft threshold in these states predate the year 2000.<\/caption>\n
    State<\/th>\nFelony Theft Threshold<\/th>\nYear Threshold Last Updated<\/th>\nPrevious Felony Theft Threshold<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Alabama<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2015<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Alaska<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Arizona<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2006<\/td>\n$250 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Arkansas<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2011<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    California<\/td>\n$950 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n$400 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Colorado<\/td>\n$2,000 <\/td>\n2013<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Connecticut<\/td>\n$2,000 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Delaware<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    District of Columbia<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Florida<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2019<\/td>\n$300 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Georgia<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2012<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Hawaii<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n$300 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Idaho<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Illinois<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n$300 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Indiana<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2013<\/td>\nany amount <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Iowa<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Kansas<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Kentucky<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n$300 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Louisiana<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2017<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Maine<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Maryland<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Massachusetts<\/td>\n$1,200 <\/td>\n2018<\/td>\n$250 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Michigan<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Minnesota<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2007<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Mississippi<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2014<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Missouri<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2014<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Montana<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Nebraska<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2015<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Nevada<\/td>\n$650 <\/td>\n2011<\/td>\n$250 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    New Hampshire<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    New Jersey<\/td>\n$200 <\/td>\n1978<\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    New Mexico<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n2006<\/td>\n$250 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    New York<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    North Carolina<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    North Dakota<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2013<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Ohio<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2011<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Oklahoma<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Oregon<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Pennsylvania<\/td>\n$2,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\nn\/a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Rhode Island<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2012<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    South Carolina<\/td>\n$2,000 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    South Dakota<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2005<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Tennessee<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2016<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Texas<\/td>\n$2,500 <\/td>\n2015<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Utah<\/td>\n$1,500 <\/td>\n2010<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Vermont<\/td>\n$900 <\/td>\n2006<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Virginia<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2020<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Washington<\/td>\n$750 <\/td>\n2009<\/td>\n$250 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    West Virginia<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\nbefore 2000*<\/td>\nn\/a <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Wisconsin<\/td>\n$2,500 <\/td>\n2001<\/td>\n$1,000<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Wyoming<\/td>\n$1,000 <\/td>\n2004<\/td>\n$500 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The case for increasing the monetary level for felony theft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,1],"tags":[64,63],"coauthors":[74],"class_list":["post-10146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-briefings","category-uncategorized","tag-collateral-consequences","tag-poverty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10146"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15893,"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10146\/revisions\/15893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10146"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=10146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}