USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon and other delivery services are in the neighborhood regularly bringing your packages and leaving them in your mailbox or on your porch. Now, aside from the errors on the delivery services part with wrong dates or wrong porch…what else could have happened to your delivery??
Have you heard of the term “Porch Pirate”? It’s often referred to as the person or persons that steal the packages you have delivered and left on your porch. They will follow the abovementioned drivers around the neighborhood and watch to see if the delivery person leaves your package at the door. They will hang close by to see if you open the door and retrieve the delivery or if it looks like you’re not even home. Usually working in twos, thieves will blatantly walk right up to the door, pick up the box and walk away to the waiting vehicle. Like it was nothing.
What can you do?
- Know the dates that you are having your packages delivered.
- Consolidate deliveries for when you know someone will be home.
- Speak to our usual delivery personnel and tell them if you have a specific concealed place they can put your packages (i.e. like behind a pillar on the porch or bench).
- When you get that notification that something was delivered or you know a delivery is coming and you’re not home, ask a neighbor to pick up the package for you and hold it until you get home.
- Pay attention to drivers in the community that don’t belong and make note of their license plates and vehicle description. The information you store might just help one of your neighbors and police.
Video doorbells and surveillance cameras usually capture the incident and are a good deterrent. Right? After all, you got a great facial shot of the thief. The crook is sure to be caught and you’ll get your stuff back. Be prepared that unless that person is someone prolific that the Sheriffs can identify and have had prior contacts with, then the likelihood of capture and prosecution is slim. But, as discouraging as that sounds sometimes your clues combined with other people who report similar crimes can solve a bigger case that involves numerous victims and lead to some serious jail time.
If you think your package was stolen:
- Contact the vendor to let them know you did not receive the item immediately. Generally, they open their own investigation and will replace the stolen item to keep you a happy customer.
- You will also want to report it to the Sheriff’s Department in the event a new trend is starting here and they can get a jump on looking for suspects and deterring future crimes.
- Let your neighbors know so they can keep a better eye out in case the pirates return.
- Let your Neighborhood Watch Coordinator know so if we see trends evolving in the area we can let everyone else know.
Stay vigilant. Look out for your neighbors. Let’s all do our part to keep crime out of Tellico Village.