SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Santa can’t always make his way through the chimney during the holiday season, instead opting to leave presents on the porch. According to a new report, porch pirates have been just as busy as the delivery men, with 260 million packages stolen being off porches over the last year.
The report comes from SafeWise, an online guide to security and safety products. It found that stealing items off porches has become more common, with estimates being at 210 million a year ago.
Teresa Murray, a consumer watchdog for U.S. PIRG, shared with CNBC that thefts have increased because of the pandemic.
“Package thefts unfortunately, are on the rise, perhaps, in part, because of the increase in online shopping that started with the pandemic in 2020,” Murray said.
SafeWise also found that some cities are experiencing porch pirates more than others, with San Francisco being the worst in the nation.
Following the Bay Area is Seattle, Washington; Austin, Texas; Hartford, Connecticut; Sacramento, California; and Los Angeles, California.
On the flip side, Miami, Florida, was named the safest from having packages stolen from shopper’s homes. Others on the safest list included Tampa, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; Orlando, Florida; Cleveland, Ohio; and Detroit, Michigan.
The report found that three in four Americans have had a package stolen from their porch throughout their lives, and 79% have been a victim of the theft in the last 12 months. Compared to last year, that number was 64%.
Other worrying statistics found, included the number of repeat victims, as more than half of those to have had a package stolen in the last 12 months had it happen more than once, the report found.
While the number of packages is overwhelming, the value of those packages is enough to make your head hurt. SafeWise found that 40% of the packages stolen were valued between $50 and $100, coming to an estimated loss of $19.5 billion.
Online shopping has become increasingly popular since the second quarter of 2020, when online sales jumped to 16.4% of all retail sales, a 4.5% jump from the previous quarter, according to the Federal Reserve.
Online sales have since fallen to 14.8%, which is lower than when it spiked but still higher than pre-pandemic numbers.
The number of online sales and deliveries are even higher during this time of the year as the holiday shopping frenzy is in full swing. According to Murray, reports of stolen items are higher now than in prior months.
When it comes to why thefts are occurring at higher rates, Dr. Ben Stickle, an expert on criminal justice, said in the SafeWise report that “package theft is a crime of opportunity.”
“The more packages left for longer periods of time on a porch, the more likely they are to be stolen. As the Christmas gift season gets into full swing, there will be a significant increase in packages on a porch,” Stickle said. “Add to that, people are busier this time of year and have their routine shifted as they may work later and spend more time away from home shopping or visiting with family and friends, so packages are left sitting exposed on the porch for longer.”
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