So called ‘porch pirates’ the thieves who steal parcels.

There are daily videos on social media taken from ring doorbells, it must be a full-time job for some.

The videos often show their identities however I doubt many are prosecuted due to lack of police and court costs.

This has prompted the growth of secure lockers, at supermarkets, petrol stations etc. I always use them for returns (often it's a requirement). Simple and secure.

Good idea for returns OldFrill.

We live on the main road through our village, at the moment our porch is partially hidden and if we are not in the parcels left by the door are invisible from the road. In the New Year it will be exposed due to relaying the drive.

We have been deliberating getting some sort of secure box at side of house, do not want to rely on a neighbour.

Today my cleaner said she had ordered clothes online for her two children. The parcel was stolen and she was distraught as it had taken her ages to save up the money.

She wanted to order a couple of ceramic heaters from Amazon so they will be delivered to my house where there is a better likelihood of me being at home to take them in.

GrannyGravy is there a pickup point in your village?

Would it be worth the expense if you do not receive many parcels?

I appear to keep Amazon in business so I am fortunate I live in a cul de sac.

Our local convenience shop collection point. On showing your ID and tracking number, you can collect your parcel safely

Some years ago a courier van stopped outside our office, and the driver started to unload boxes with DELL (computers) on them. A car pulled up behind him and said "Ah, those are for my office, just put them in the boot of my car would you"? Luckily the building supervisor caught sight and ran outside to intervene - The belief is the car was following the van to intercept any parcels.

It's very much more common now, of course. I too am lucky in that I live off a cul de sac that runs off another cul de sac, and my door is at the side of the building rather than the front.

Sounds like a lucrative business model nowadays, sadly. Apparently this involves thousands of deliveries.
😱

I reckon that foxes and seagulls are guilty around here. Walking home this morning there was a parcel torn open and it was biscuits I think and had clearly been eaten.

Another 'sign-of-the-times' URMS along with theft from supermarkets etc where some simply walk into a shop, take what they want and walk out again - then there's the mobs who swipe things into a holdall...

In my small Cotswold town this morning, an elderly couple returned to their home just in time to see a thief driving off in their son's van which had been parked in the driveway - after he'd smashed the front window of their house and ransacked every room. The house is only a few feet from the road - these fanatical thugs are becoming so bold, probably because they know there's a good chance they won't get caught, so they don't care.

I said in another thread a while ago that I fear we are on the way to becoming a crime-ridden dystopia.

After Theresa May hollowed out the police force, those on the front line simply cannot do what the public expect of them. And of course, they get the blame. I can't see things improving any time soon. It's very depressing.

Goodness Dickens that’s terrible! I agree, I think as a society we’re becoming immune to all crimes, in that we seemingly accept bad things now as the norm. There is little deterrent. Prisons ‘are full’ and keeping inmates in them is expensive. We just feel the country is broke (skint) and broken.

... oh, and I think the media should stop with the "Porch Pirates" nonsense, it lends an air of swashbuckling glamour to their theft. They're not Johnny Depp, they're just a worthless bunch of contemptible opportunistic low-life.

I read an article this morning about young girls looking for men with Rolex watches in clubs, restaurants etc., they forward their description and whereabouts to the gang leaders who wait outside the establishments to relieve them of their watches.

Apparently there has been a documentary made about them. It should be possible to wear your watch without some lowlife mugging you for it.

They are difficult to sell as all Rolex’s have an individual serial number which can be traced easily (when made, where sold and to whom, if you buy a legitimate pre-loved one they come with all these details, original receipt and box etc.,) The stolen ones are shipped out to Eastern Europe, Dubai etc.

Dickens

... oh, and I think the media should stop with the "Porch Pirates" nonsense, it lends an air of swashbuckling glamour to their theft. They're not Johnny Depp, they're just a worthless bunch of contemptible opportunistic low-life.

We were just saying the same thing.

Many, many years ago I remember watching one of those shows like Jeremy Kyle (can't remember which one) and a man said 'I am a professional burglar. It's my job. It's how I pay my bills and feed my family. What we steal is insured so no one looses out except the rich insurance companies'. He seemed to think it wrong that he had to go to jail because of it. There have always been thieves and thugs, I think the difference is that they used to know that what they did was wrong. The morality bar is now set so low it doesn't really exist.

AreWeThereYet

Dickens

... oh, and I think the media should stop with the "Porch Pirates" nonsense, it lends an air of swashbuckling glamour to their theft. They're not Johnny Depp, they're just a worthless bunch of contemptible opportunistic low-life.

We were just saying the same thing.

Many, many years ago I remember watching one of those shows like Jeremy Kyle (can't remember which one) and a man said 'I am a professional burglar. It's my job. It's how I pay my bills and feed my family. What we steal is insured so no one looses out except the rich insurance companies'. He seemed to think it wrong that he had to go to jail because of it. There have always been thieves and thugs, I think the difference is that they used to know that what they did was wrong. The morality bar is now set so low it doesn't really exist.

... and a man said 'I am a professional burglar. It's my job. It's how I pay my bills and feed my family

Irresponsible delivery drivers are partly to blame. If there is no secure place to leave a parcel, they should take it away and the customer told to collect it from the depot. Leaving parcels exposed on a doorstep is just asking for them to be stolen.

OldFrill

This has prompted the growth of secure lockers, at supermarkets, petrol stations etc. I always use them for returns (often it's a requirement). Simple and secure.

Yes, I’ve had to lug an enormous box to one of those! Not convenient for the buss route and hardly worth two taxis to return something. Not everyone has a car

Last week in the the charity shop I volunteer at we had 2 thieves, a mother and daughter. The mother was in a small mobility scooter.
It wasn’t until they left ( without buying anything, some do) that we noticed a new handbag and several Xmas decorations were gone.
When we looked at the cctv it showed clearly the items going under the mother’s blanket.
We have sent the film to the 3 charity shops near us and the police.

I wouldn’t want to be a multi-drop delivery driver, especially in the run up to Christmas.

I wouldn’t want to be a multi-drop delivery driver, especially in the run up to Christmas

The main couriers cant cope with the seasonal rush so they take on a lot of nicky-no-name drivers and they are the ones to watch. I tend to use UPS and Fedex for outgoing packages over a certain value as I have regular drivers. Similarly if I order goods in the UK I dont mind paying the extra for a proper courier service and to insure the contents. Ive had a lot of problems with ParcelForce and Evri.

Urmstongran

Goodness Dickens that’s terrible! I agree, I think as a society we’re becoming immune to all crimes, in that we seemingly accept bad things now as the norm. There is little deterrent. Prisons ‘are full’ and keeping inmates in them is expensive. We just feel the country is broke (skint) and broken.

Sadly all so true Urms

There is a guy in the U.S who launched a campaign against parcel thieves a few years ago. He goes to extraordinary lengths to booby trap fake parcel boxes and arrange for them to be left on doorsteps . He’s made a career out of it and receives sponsorship from tech companies for cctv and recording equipment he puts in the parcel. There are lots of his clips on YouTube and they’ve been viewed millions of times.

He took inspiration from the Home Alone movie and sets elaborate booby traps with motion sensors in the box which trigger recording equipment when it’s moved and an internal mobile phone camera films the thief’s reaction as they open the box. The footage is relayed back to his iCloud. When the package is opened it explodes with glitter and emits foul smelling fart spray which is usually a direct hit on the thief.

His name is Mark Rober if you want to see some of his clips on YouTube.

I wouldn’t give them the glamour of calling them porch pirates. Just a###holes.