As the holiday season gets underway, Barrie police are advising residents to take measures to protect their deliveries from potential "porch pirates."
Peter Leon, corporate communications coordinator with the Barrie Police Service, says these types of crimes involve thieves stealing packages from porches shortly after they are delivered.
Leon says it is a crime of opportunity and the service has seen an increase in these incidents in the city.
"A person may have watched the delivery take place or they may be just happening by the home and see a box sitting up on the porch by the front door," Leon told Barrie 360.
"They'll approach, they'll look around, they'll make sure nobody's looking, watching, and they will grab that parcel, package, whatever it may be, and walk off with it.”
The growing frequency of deliveries has given thieves more opportunities to strike, especially as online retailers have made it easier to ship packages directly to customers’ doorsteps.
With the holiday shopping season already underway, police say these incidents could increase further.
“We're starting to see a bit of a trend where people are now starting to get ready for holiday purchasing,” Leon explained. “They're utilizing online services ... they're ordering everything from Christmas presents to even food preparation products that are available for full meals for their family.”
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What are the challenges police face in catching "porch pirates?"
"Not everybody has video, some people have doorbell cams which is great, but these individuals are concealing their identity, in some cases, they're wearing masks," said Leon.
"Winter months are coming, if somebody were wearing a ski mask walks down the street, it's not going to be very uncommon ... but, if somebody's out and about and this is their line of work and this is what they like to do, they're going to disguise themselves in such a way that they're not going to be able to be identified. That makes it a challenge."
The other issue, according to Leon, is the amount of items a person has ordered.
"If you've ordered five items, you may have five different deliveries," said Leon.
"And these packages can be very small, can be concealed at this time of year in a fall or winter coat ... and the person goes undetected. So, it is very difficult to identify the individuals. And if we do identify them, there's no guarantee that we're going to be able to get that item that was stolen back."
In response to the increase in thefts, police are urging residents to take precautions to safeguard their packages.
“Even a patio storage box that could be bolted to your front deck would be a great idea," Leon advised. You could leave a padlock inside of it and then lock it and secure it in such a way by the person making the delivery, and then you would have the key to open it when you get home."
Leon also said coordinating with a neighbour to hold onto the delivered package is always a good option.
"I think you need to do something rather than nothing at all because you certainly do not want these individuals making a habit of entering into your neighbourhood," Leon cautioned.
"If the goods are good to get today, they might be better tomorrow. We don’t want them coming back a second time."
