This holiday gifting season, keep an eye out for porch pirates attempting to pilfer packages left at the front door.
“During the holiday season, there’s definitely a lot more instances of package theft,” Los Altos Police Department officer David Lopez said. “We have our target areas, and we know time frames with many burglaries, so we do have individuals assigned to those specific areas to try to prevent crimes from happening.”
Lopez said he advises residents to act quickly when packages are delivered to their front doors. For those out of town, he suggested using alternative delivery methods or rescheduling the delivery time.
But in the event of actual package theft, Lopez said to contact law enforcement immediately and provide the time of theft and any additional information about the crime, such as security camera footage.
“If anything is stolen from your residence or vehicle, contact us, so we can take the report, investigate and see if we can develop any leads,” Lopez said. “We can’t promise to catch everybody or return everybody’s product, but the hope is that we can at least identify these individuals and seek prosecution against them for their crimes.”
On the other end, shopping platforms and delivery services also have policies to prevent and deal with stolen packages.
“We definitely understand how important it is for customers to keep their packages safe,” Amazon spokesperson Louie Tran said. “We are focused on many best practices to help that out, including different delivery options and tracking technologies.”
Tran said he recommends customers take advantage of alternative delivery methods that best suit their needs, such as delivering them to secure Amazon Lockers located inside stores. Customers are also encouraged to track incoming packages on the app or leave special delivery instructions for drivers.
“We work backwards from our customers to make sure they’re getting what they need,” Tran said. “Our customers tell us how to protect packages, and we can do that. They can provide instructions to delivery drivers to hide their packages, like behind a planter or a bush, so it’s out of sight.”
In the event of package theft, Tran said customers should contact local police first. Then, Amazon can work individually with customers to find the best solution for their circumstances.
“This can be very traumatizing for families, especially if you have a tight budget this year, so we don’t wanna take that lightly,” Tran said. “We always encourage customers to call police right away because this is a crime. Second, contact our customer service team available 24/7, so we can work with our customers on a case-by-case basis to give a tailored resolution.”
New this year, Amazon is partnering with the National Sheriffs’ Association to bring awareness to the issues of package theft and how customers can deal with it.
“For the first time, we’re working with this organization of more than 3,000 sheriffs across the U.S.,” Tran said. “We’re trying to get the word out proactively with them, so hopefully this can reduce package theft and allow law enforcement to focus on more critical calls to keep their community safe.”
Similarly, for FedEx, customers are encouraged to use different delivery and tracking options, according to a FedEx spokesperson Allie Addams.
“Customers and consumers are encouraged to use our visibility tools to track their packages and/or reroute if needed,” Addams said in an email. “FedEx Delivery Manager provides customers with updates on the status of their package(s) via text and/or email, so customers can track their package every step of the way.”
Addams also said that drivers aim to ensure they and their packages are safe.
“The safety of our team members is top priority, and we educate our drivers to be aware of their surroundings,” Addams said.
