Dori: A solution to Seattle-Tacoma ranking No. 2 in U.S. for porch thefts
Dec 12, 2022, 9:33 AM | Updated: Dec 21, 2022, 2:22 pm
Packages on your porch continue to be targets of thieves. (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Waiting for a delivery at your front door?
Grab it quick, because a new study shows the Seattle-Tacoma region now ranks No. 2 among “Worst Metro Cities for Package Theft” in the United States.
Seattle-Tacoma climbed two spots from its fourth-place ranking in 2021, according to the fifth annual Package Theft in America report by SafeWise – a national home and internet security research organization. The only city worse? San Francisco.
And numbers from SafeWise show the problem is getting worse.
Nationwide, 260 million packages were stolen from porches over the past 12 months, Dori cited from the report. That is an increase of 50 million pilfered packages from 2021. SafeWise also reports that:
- More than 3 in 4 Americans have been a victim of package theft in their lifetime, and over half of these “porch pirate” victims have had multiple packages stolen in the past 12 months;
- 79% of Americans have been a victim of package theft in the last 12 months – up 15 points from last year;
- 40% of all packages stolen are valued between $50–$100. The resulting loss: an estimated $19.5 billion.
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“It’s simply outrageous,” Dori told listeners.
To protect their packages, SafeWise said of those trying to deter criminals, 35% of past victims had a security camera or video doorbell camera.
Frustratingly, Dori added, 17% of those said their camera caught the porch pirate in action. Even when identified or arrested, he continued, the penalty for thieves is almost inconsequential.
Dori wonders if the next solution is to install secure boxes “too heavy to carry off” at a front door.
“It would be a receptacle that would cost you a few hundred bucks, and it’s probably going to be kind of ugly to have on your front porch, but we have no social compact in America,” he said. “We have told the criminals that this land is their land, and we reward them and let them steal daily so they can buy their next fix of drugs.”
Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.
