5 Ways To Stop Porch Pirates In Anne Arundel County

Annapolis MD

03 December, 2020

2:58 PM

Description

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD —More than 5.5 million Americans have been victimized by package thefts over the past year, according to Finder, a personal finance comparison website, in a study released in November. About $5.4 billion worth of items were stolen in package thefts from November 2019 to November 2020, the Finder determined. Because of the busy online shopping month of December, that number is likely to grow by the end of the year. "Yes, we have seen increases in package thefts during holidays,"said Marc Limansky, a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County Police Department. "So far this year, we have not seen an influx of cases, but I do expect to see one." Fewer people were in the nation's malls on Black Friday, and Cyber Monday is expected to become the busiest online shopping day of all time when all sales are totaled, according to The Associated Press. Overall holiday season sales in 2020 are expected to rise 0.9 percent, with a 36 percent jump in online sales, a study by the research company eMarketer shows. Porch pirates could see a prime opportunity to take advantage of the expected spike in packages left at front doors. They usually get away with it, too. Only 11 percent of victims said the culprits were caught, according to a 2019 study by C+R Research. Who Steals A Package? Men are found to be more likely to be both package thieves and victims of the crime, according to the Finder study. With 5.29 percent of men admitting having stolen a package compared with 0.85 percent of women, men are more than 500 percent more likely to be package thieves than women, the study found. Seventeen percent of men say a package of theirs was stolen during the past year, compared with 11 percent for women. Still, 86 percent of the nearly 2,000 participants in the study said they have not experienced a package theft since this time last year. Prevention Tips Here are five tips Finder shared to help Americans keep from becoming a victim of a package theft: Try curbside pickup: Drive to the store; most of them offer curbside pickup options. Use a post office box: This will ensure the package is handled by a professional at an Anne Arundel County post office.Video surveillance: Doorbell cameras can allow homeowners to scare away the thief in real time. Require a signature: This way, the package cannot go unattended. Have it sent to your workplace: Public places typically have a greater chance of using security cameras. "We recommend folks ask that packages require signatures at delivery or recipients use drop boxes that are widely available from delivery services and vendors," Limansky said. "Even specifying a specific location where the package should be placed could help if none of the above are possible." Patch staffer Kristin Danley-Greiner contributed reporting to this article. Have a story idea? Please contact me at [email protected] with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.