Bergen Cops: Beware Of Porch Pirates This Holiday Season

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ – With the holiday season upon us, chances are you’ll have a package delivered to your doorstep sometime over the next month and a half.

The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the busiest time of year for FedEx, the United States Postal Service (USPS), United Parcel Service (UPS) and other delivery companies.

USPS estimates it will average 20.5 million packages per day through the remainder of the year, and will peak at 28 million deliveries per day between Dec. 16 and 21.

UPS recently announced it hired 100,000 temporary workers as it braces for a record year of holiday online shopping. The company expects "nearly double" the average delivery rate of 20 million packages per day during the holidays.

That's a lot of boxes - and a lot of opportunity for thieves to snatch packages left on porches or other visible places.

Thieves typically drive through neighborhoods searching for packages left on front steps, porches or driveways and then seize the opportunity to take them, according to Wyckoff Police Lt. Joseph Soto.

As more and more people do their shopping online, police have noticed a general rise in package thefts.

“The way consumers shop in the 21st century has seen a major shift to online purchases. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates consumers spent $513.61 billion online in 2018, up 14.2% from 2017. With this trend has come a new type of thief commonly referred to as a ‘porch pirate’ – criminals who steal packages left in front of people’s homes by delivery services. As the holiday season begins, we can expect a rise in these types of crimes,” Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said.

More than half of Americans say they know someone who has had a delivery stolen from outside of their home. And, nearly a third have actually had it happen to them, according to the Shorr Package Theft Report survey.

Yet, it hasn't deterred people from e-shopping.

A recent survey by security.org found that one in five people are getting packages in the mail 10 times a month. And online shopping is undoubtedly the preferred medium for holiday shoppers, with 56 percent of holiday shoppers saying they'll make purchases via smart phones or computers, according to the National Retail Federation

To help ensure your holidays stay bright and merry, Ackerman issued a few safety tips to prevent package thefts.

• Schedule deliveries to your workplace or an alternate address where someone is home during the day.
• Schedule delivery for times when you'll be home.
• Require a signature from your package carrier.
• Monitor your front porch (Xfinity Home, Ring doorbell, Nest and others).
• Try a lockbox. Lockboxes can be used to protect packages until you can make it home and retrieve them.
• Track your shipment online (FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, Amazon) so you know when it's delivered and can ask someone to hold onto it until you arrive home
• Make sure to check for & bring in packages, don’t let them sit out.
• Talk to neighbors who may be home during the day and could take in packages for you.

Fair Lawn Police Sgt. Brian Metzler suggested considering having your package shipped to a store for pick-up or even a local pack & ship store, like the UPS Store. Insuring your holiday packages is also a good idea, he added.

Another way residents can help their neighbors and police is to “immediately report any suspicious vehicles or persons” spotted, Sotto said.

“Providing police communications with the most accurate description of persons and vehicles, including direction of travel, often assists us in locating the perpetrators and recovering stolen items,” he said.