Seattle police arrest suspect believed to be ‘prolific’ porch pirate
Nov 22, 2019, 9:22 AM
(MyNorthwest photo)
(MyNorthwest photo)
Detectives and officers in the Seattle Police Department’s south precinct teamed up with U.S. Postal Inspectors Wednesday to apprehend someone in Georgetown they suspect is a “prolific” porch pirate.
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The suspect is a 34-year-old woman who investigators believe has been swiping packages, mail, and credit cards across Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, and then using those stolen cards to buy items at local stores.
She was arrested Wednesday morning near 4th Avenue and Michigan Street after being identified by postal inspectors. The suspect was arrested with a garbage bag full of mail in her vehicle, and had an outstanding Department of Corrections warrant to boot.
Over the last year, the Puget Sound region has been a prime target for porch pirates. In 2018, security website SafeWise ranked the Seattle-Tacoma area 6th when it comes to metro regions with the most holiday package theft.
But it gets worse. The region ranks also second in the nation when it comes to having packages stolen the rest of the year. Only three metros made it onto both lists — Seattle-Tacoma, Austin, Salt Lake City.
The information lines up with previous assessments, such as one from PEMCO Insurance that found roughly half of all Washington residents have had a package stolen from their home. Beyond that, PEMCO also found that 28 percent of Washingtonians polled said they don’t do anything to protect delivered packages. Just 38 percent of people said they make sure someone is home when the mail is delivered.
With this latest arrest, hopefully there’s at least one less porch pirate out there in the world contributing to Seattle’s less-than-ideal status as a haven for package theft.
