PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Package thefts are on the rise across the city, but residents on one South Philly block banded together to fight back.
Ryan Fair said he’s lived on Montrose Street between 3rd Street and Moyamensing Avenue for the last four years, and package thefts have always happened.
Police were called, reports were filed, but they never recovered any of the stolen items, so Fair started a group chat for the block.
“I posted some signs on some light posts around our little street with a QR code. The response was pretty quick and pretty surprising. Within a week or two, we had 20 or 30 people in the group chat,” he said.
Instead of scheduling deliveries around when they’re home or risking them getting stolen, residents on the block hit the group chat and other neighbors hold their packages until they can be picked up.
Fair said the group chat also brought the block closer together.
“I think it builds a really strong, intangible sense of community. I can say that it at least gives me a sense of knowing my neighbors, of feeling connected with my community, and not feeling like I’m alone in dealing with these problems that are community-sized problems,” he said.
The 3rd Police District in South Philly had the second-highest reported package thefts in 2025, per Philly Police data. The area led the city in package thefts for 2023 and 2024.
