Arghh Billy, do you want to be a Porch Pirate!

Is Porch Pirates theft overblown?

[lgn1]

This year I have seen headlines such as:

Porch Piracy up 42% in 2022.
42% of Americans have had a package stolen.
Space Aliens beaming up parcels off American Porches.

I have seen very little increase in Porch Piracy in the past ten years, however.

According to statistics, porch piracy ranges between a low 1.6742 stolen parcels per 100,000 in Mississippi to
7.2806 stolen parcels per 100,000 in California.

Wyoming technically has the highest at 8.6545, but hardly anybody lives there, to be statistically significant.

Once, I subtract parcels lost in transit, or eventually found, delivered to the neighbour, placed between the back door, that nobody uses, etc,
I get a rate in this range.

We don't use Amazon, and I have been told that Amazon parcels have a much higher chance of being stolen, over an unmarked brown box.

I will be interested in other people experience, if this is just news media trying to make a headline, by cherry-picking statistics, or if this is becoming a matter of concern.

[engine]

I agree, some journalists and publications are lazy and just quote data to make a story.

However, there's no question, it's a problem that must have grown as more and more people turn to mail order and courier deliveries.

I rarely send out packages, but when I do, I always make sure there is adequate insurance cover should the item get lost or damaged.

As a recipient, i've had more trouble with damaged packages than theft. Too many crushed items, imho.

[lucy24]

it's a problem that must have grown as more and more people turn to mail order and courier deliveries.

And there’s the rub. Has it grown proportionally--in cases per 100,000 or however one measures--or has it only grown numerically, because the potential target group is larger?

[topr8]

i think more unscrupulous people are claiming their package has been stolen!

[LifeinAsia]

I think it really matters on your neighborhood. And your neighbors.

I can see that with more and more deliveries being made, drivers have less and less time available at each stop. (I remember the "good ol' days" when the UPS and FedEx drivers used to ring the door bell/knock on the door and wait (at least several seconds) for someone to answer and sign for the package. That hasn't happened in years, even when they can see me sitting at the computer through the window next to the front door.) That means the package can sit there for several hours before the recipient realizes there's even a package there, giving porch pirates lots of time to grab and go.

For anecdotal evidence, I HAVE seen a lot more posts recently on social media with door cam footage of porch pirates taking off with their packages. And I mean from local folks, not the heavily shared footage from who-knows-where.

[phranque]

...more posts recently on social media with door cam footage of porch pirates taking off with their packages...

i see this as the reason for these headlines.

...journalists and publications are lazy...

and this.

the potential target group is larger

and this.