Police warn against porch piracy during the holiday season

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky (WTVQ)– The holiday season is in full swing and just days after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, police are warning people about ‘porch pirates.’
Porch Pirates are believed to have stolen an estimated eight billion dollars worth of goods in the past year.

The Wednesday after Thanksgiving is National Package Protection Day. It’s a day to encourage homeowners to stay on high alert as those holiday packages start to arrive.

“Lots of those packages that people ordered over the weekend will be showing up starting this week and moving forward to the holidays,” says Officer Sam Wade, the public information officer with the Nicholasville Police Department.

According to a survey from security.org, 49 million Americans have had at least one package stolen in the last year. 18% of adults say they’d had a package stolen that contained a gift for someone else.

“Piracy is big, especially at the holidays. If you are ordering gifts to be delivered to your home and you are not there during the day, it’s sitting there unattended porch pirates can make out with that. It happens all the time,” says Heather Clary, the spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau.

Wade says law enforcement nationally see an increase in porch pirates during the holiday season.

“One of the big things is just like with any valuables, you want to make sure you’re not leaving them unattended longer than you have to. Lots of delivery services offer package tracking, so you’ll have a fairly narrow window of when your package has been delivering and many of them offer instant notification of when your package has been delivered,” says Officer Wade.

Wade says it’s also a good idea to invest in a doorbell or porch camera, which can also help provide added protection. He says the video from one can also help police solve cases- should your packages be stolen.

You can also provide special directions to delivery drivers– to help put packages in a location hidden away from possible thieves, like at a back door or at the side of your home.

“Some delivery companies have special lockers located in different areas where they can deliver it there. Then you can go pick it up at your convenience. And that’s a little extra security for that item,” says Clary.

Another important tip: if you’re expecting a package when you’re away, have trusted neighbors be on standby to help keep your packages safe until you arrive home.