Sheboygan is no island when it comes to what’s become known as “porch piracy”. Sheboygan Police Community Neighborhood Beat Officer Kevin Post says that municipalities don’t all categorize thefts of packages delivered to a home the same way, theft of some packages get labeled “theft from business”. And it should be noted that packages taken from mailboxes are handled by a Postal Inspector and those numbers aren’t included. But the number of those labeled “thefts from the mail” are up only slightly compared to last year. Post said that in 2021 there were 31 such thefts last year, and so far in 2022 there have been 34. And while those numbers are about the same, the porch pirates aren’t getting away with their crimes as often, telling WHBL news that the “clearance”, or arrest rate, has more than doubled last year. That could be a result of the growing numbers of doorbell and surveillance cameras or better reporting of the crimes.
Post says that since most thefts are crimes of opportunities, options like scheduled delivery or having the package delivered to a friend or relative can be one way to foil the thieves, and doorbell cameras also serve as a good deterrent. They also provide evidence that can be used in nabbing a suspect.
If you discover you’re a victim of a porch pirate, Post says you should report that as soon as possible since others nearby could also have been hit, and the more that report package theft, the better the odds of sending the porch pirates to the brig.
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