A property crime of some kind–burglary, theft, vandalism, arson–occurs in America every 4.6 seconds, amounting to 6,925,677 incidents each year. While this number might seem frightening, it’s actually been declining since 1990. However, the rise in package thievery has been increasing in recent years with 210 million stolen from porches in 2021.
With the surge in online sales of expensive electronics like phones, computers, sound systems, and video game systems, it’s no wonder porch pirates are seizing the opportunities to steal unattended packages. Most thieves turn around and resell the items they steal so it’s a quick way to make a few bucks at the expense of someone else.
But how can you stop a package thief when you can’t be home to vigilantly attend to every package delivery? Here are a few ways to prevent your deliveries from being stolen:
Ways to stop package thieves
Monitor your package delivery
Watch for it online and make a plan to receive it. Most companies will let you know when your package has shipped and will give you a date of when it is expected to arrive. Some companies, like Amazon, even give you a time frame of when you can expect your package to be delivered and will even send you a heads up when the driver is in your vicinity. If you aren’t home, this gives you time to send a neighbor or friend over to retrieve your package. When it comes to expensive items being shipped to your home, sign up for any alerts offered to track your package.
Some companies will allow you to put in special delivery instructions when you order an item. You can instruct the person delivering your package to put it in a spot not visible from the road or sidewalk or at a side entrance.
Another option is a box on your porch. You can instruct the delivery person to put the package inside the box and then it is out of sight. For extra measure you can include a combination lock so the box can be locked after the package is placed in it. You may also want to secure your box to the porch so it doesn’t go missing too.
Require a signature
This might delay your delivery as UPS or FedEx may need to arrange a special time to meet you but will almost certainly prevent a package theft. You can also have the package held at a local post office, UPS, or FedEx location for pickup at your convenience if you have a tracking number to receive your shipment. This is a good option for those that live in high density areas like apartment complexes or along busy throughways. Most offenses are crimes of opportunity, meaning someone saw a package on the doorstep and decided right then and there to take it.
Install a visible camera at your front door or wherever packages are delivered
We have many recommendations for home security systems, but if you’re not in the market for a larger setup for home security, we recommend a single camera that may deter and help capture potential package thieves. A single, self-monitored wifi camera costs about $150-$250 depending on the features you want. You can install a video doorbell so that you can greet your delivery by voice and video, or you could consider just installing a single, visible camera near where packages are delivered to deter thieves.
Ship it somewhere else if your neighborhood is high crime or it’s close to the holidays
If you know your neighborhood has had a problem with packages going missing, it might be a good idea to send your expensive packages somewhere else completely. Your workplace, a friend’s house, or your parent’s home if they live nearby are a few options.
Apps like Nextdoor and Ring’s Neighbor provide real-time conversations about what is happening in your neighborhood from your neighbors and local law enforcement. If you notice on the feeds of Nextdoor or Neighbor that people are reporting a lot of missing packages, you may want to find somewhere else to send that expensive item you just bought.
The holiday season is payday for porch pirates, so even if you feel like you live in a relatively safe area, it might still be a good idea in December to either send your packages to a different address of someone you know will be home to receive them or to have them kept at your local post office, UPS, or FedEx location for you to pick up.
If you live near the retailer that you bought an item from, you may want to take advantage of their Ship to Store option. Many companies will ship an item to a store near you for free, saving you money and worry.
Non-lethal booby-traps and the importance of non-confrontation
If you’ve seen Home Alone (1990) then you’re already familiar with what we’d recommend implementing in your home for security purposes. We’re joking, of course, but there are alternative methods to a full-on home security system to keep your home safe without setting booby traps (which are illegal or otherwise unadvisable in most US states). Having a large dog leering out the window or barking at a noise could certainly deter a potential burglar, for example.
We understand the impulse to confront a package thief in the act. The reason we can’t recommend doing this is because some package thieves may be unstable or otherwise violent when spooked. We don’t recommend taking any physical action during a package theft situation because the most important thing is to keep the people in your home safe.
When do most packages get stolen?
When you imagine a home theft or break-in you might think of a darkly-clad individual skulking around your home at night while you and your family sleep. You hear a sound and awake abruptly while you reach for your Louisville Slugger tucked beneath the bed. But the reality is that most property theft occurs during the day time, when you might not even be at home. The nighttime bandit story still occurs and is quite serious for those that it happens to but you’re more likely to get your stuff stolen during the average American work day, 9AM-5PM.
Weather can also affect theft rates in your area. Summer is a time when crime is high because the days are longer and folks are out and about well into the night more often. In colder, more foreboding weather regions, fewer burglaries tend to occur in the winter months (with the exception of the holidays) while in the summer, with people away on vacations and such, crime is typically up across the board.
What to do after a package gets stolen
Similar to what you’d do after a home invasion, it makes sense to report the theft to the police so that they can track the data, discover crime patterns and possibly (though not very likely) get your stuff back. You might also want some good old fashioned justice for the culprit and the only way to get that is to hope the cops track them down eventually. Help them do that by reporting the theft.
Beyond the police report and staying safe, bigger companies such as Amazon and Wal-Mart have fairly generous theft insurance programs that will most likely get you made whole again, if you make sure to report it to the retailer as well. Your credit card might also have theft protection, so check that out as well.
When your stuff goes missing, it’s hard not to feel angry and violated, especially if your packages contain time-sensitive items like medications. Doing a few precautionary things can help ease your mind and increase the chances that porch pirates will skip your house for an easier target.