DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Every year they’re caught on camera.
Porch pirates, pilfering people’s personal property.
Chief Garth Warner with Derry Township Police Department says thefts increase after events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
“It’s kind of changed up the landscape as far as how the criminal element seeks to take advantage of that,” Warner said.
According to the global fintech group Finder, more than 20% of Pennsylvanians experienced porch pirating last year.
Detective Andrew Herr says thefts can be opportunistic or organized.
‘I would say we get more from residential neighborhoods where it’s more of a community development as drivers go through the route, and in some cases, we’ve actually had people follow that route and they see they stopped at these five houses, that’s 1-2-3-4-5 and they’re gone,” Herr said.
What can you do to protect your belongings?
Experts suggest having packages delivered to an alternative address, such as work.
Take advantage of off-site pick-up locations.
And consider investing in a security system, like doorbell cameras.
Lieutenant Matthew Bietsch with Chambersburg Police Department in Franklin County says people can also register home cameras to aid active investigations.
"This doesn't mean it allows us access to your cameras, it just lets us know that if we have a crime in the area, we can reach out you, if you provide contact information, we can reach out to you, ask you to review your video or if we can send some detectives or some officers over to review your video during the time of the crime,” Bietsch said.
Other departments, like Derry Township PD, offer the same program.
“If we do have a package theft that occurred at ‘XYZ Elm street,’ we can go and look to see if any other residents in that area have camera systems and we reach out to them,” Warner said.
If you are the victim of porch pirating, experts suggest filing a dispute with the delivery service.
Report the theft to police.
And alert neighbors to be on the lookout for suspicious characters.