Wayne PD: Beware Of Porch Pirates This Holiday Season

WAYNE, 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 - known as "porch pirates" - typically drive through neighborhoods searching for packages left on front steps, porches or driveways and then seize the opportunity to take them. As more and more people do their shopping online, local police have noticed a general rise in package thefts, according to Wayne Police Detective Capt. Daniel Daly.

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, Daly 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.
• Utilize Amazon's pick-up locations, which have lockboxes for deliveries.
• Have proper exterior lights at your home.
• Consider purchasing a Ring system or similar doorbell products that notify you when a delivery is made.
• Have a neighbor or family member retrieve packages.
• Require a signature from your package carrier.
• Monitor your front porch (Xfinity Home, Ring doorbell, Nest and others).
• 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

Another way residents can help their neighbors and police is to immediately report any suspicious vehicles or persons" spotted. Providing police with information, such as people, vehicles and direction of travel can help officers track down the suspects and recover stolen items.