5 Ways To Stop Porch Pirates In Roswell

ROSWELL, GA — Online shopping has reached an all-time high due to the coronavirus pandemic as package thieves gear up for the holiday season in Roswell and across the country.

Roswell Police Public Information Officer Sean Thompson told Patch that the department always has officers on patrol, but they also receive intelligence through partnerships with other metro Atlanta agencies, the state of Georgia, and federal agencies.

"We take that intelligence and attempt to apply resources efficiently and effectively to combat or prevent any crime to include package thefts," Thompson said. "We are fortunate enough to have a community that will notify us if something is out of place. Those tips are many times what help us to prevent or apprehend thieves. We try to constantly alert Roswell citizens to crimes or trends taking place in the community through PSAs on social media or by reaching out to the local media."

The City of Roswell is residential, so package theft does occur occasionally, but Thompson said they more often see mail theft or entering autos.

"This may be because most packages are delivered during the day when it’s easier to be seen, identified, or caught," Thompson said. "However, most crimes occur out of opportunity so it still happens. We are anticipating a potential increase this year due to the pandemic and the increase in online shopping. We are stepping up patrols in residential areas."

Thompson gave recommendations to keep the porch pirates at bay:

• Request home delivery scheduled to arrive when you are home.
• Ship to a locker or “mailbox” type store.
• Cameras are a great deterrent or tool if something goes missing.
• Have good lighting around your home (it’s getting darker earlier/ maybe before you get home from work).
• Take a look at adding package lockers for your porch (many look like a seat or bench and lock)
• Get to know your neighbors. Together as a community, you can put a stop to crime in your neighborhood or apartment complex.
• Call non-emergency, 770-640-4160, and report suspicious activity immediately, this will keep porch pirates away.

"Covid-19 hasn’t really changed our response," Thompson said. "We just anticipate that there will be more mail and packages this year. We will need the community’s help to alert us or send some tips our way. Together we can protect Roswell."

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More than 5.5 million Americans have been victimized by package thefts over the past year, according to Finder, a personal finance comparison website, in a study released in November.

About $5.4 billion worth of items were stolen in package thefts from November 2019 to November 2020, the Finder determined.

Because of the busy online shopping month of December, that number is likely to grow by the end of the year.

Fewer people were in the nation's malls on Black Friday, and Cyber Monday is expected to become the busiest online shopping day of all time when all sales are totaled, according to The Associated Press.

Overall holiday season sales in 2020 are expected to rise 0.9 percent, with a 36 percent jump in online sales, a study by the research company eMarketer shows.

Porch pirates could see a prime opportunity to take advantage of the expected spike in packages left at front doors.

They usually get away with it, too. Only 11 percent of victims said the culprits were caught, according to a 2019 study by C+R Research.

Who Steals A Package?

Men are found to be more likely to be both package thieves and victims of the crime, according to the Finder study. With 5.29 percent of men admitting having stolen a package compared with 0.85 percent of women, men are more than 500 percent more likely to be package thieves than women, the study found.

Seventeen percent of men say a package of theirs was stolen during the past year, compared with 11 percent for women.

Still, 86 percent of the nearly 2,000 participants in the study said they have not experienced a package theft since this time last year.

Prevention Tips

Here are five tips Finder shared to help Americans keep from becoming a victim of a package theft:

• Try curbside pickup: Drive to the store; most of them offer curbside pickup options.
• Use a post office box: This will ensure the package is handled by a professional at the Canton post office.
• Video surveillance: Doorbell cameras such as Ring can allow homeowners to scare away the thief in real time.
• Require a signature: This way, the package cannot go unattended.
• Have it sent to your workplace: Public places typically have a greater chance of using security cameras.