Neptune Beach Police have a plan to thwart porch pirates before they ever get to your door this holiday season.
As online shopping grows, the Police Department invites you to ship your purchases to the department and pick them up there.
This will be the third year for the program, which the department skipped in 2019 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
How often packages get hijacked is hard to say. Most thefts get reported to shippers like Amazon, not to police, a police spokesman said.
But the frequency is rising with online shopping, which grew in part because people shunned stores during the pandemic. As deliveries increase, experts say, so is the value of packages.
Some 43% of online shoppers reported having a package stolen at least once in the past year, according to C+R Research in Chicago. That compared with 36% in 2019 and 31% in 2018.
Shipping to another location like a police department is one of several tips recommended by the Better Business Bureau and other services.
Among other tips:
- Track your packages and retrieve them immediately after they're delivered.
- Have packages delivered to an Amazon or UPS delivery locker.
- Arrange for delivery when you'll be home
- Have the sender require a signature.
- Have packages placed out of sight.
- Install a door camera.
- Use your credit card (it will protect you from loss more than a debit card).
- Insure valuable items.
Camera doorbells have helped police in several cities nab porch pirates. A Utah resident, fed up with package thefts, put a GPS tracker in a box and videotaped a thief stealing it off the porch.
Police have done the same thing with decoy packages in some cities. Others are taking the same approach as Neptune Beach, allowing residents to ship packages to the police headquarters.
The Neptune Beach department expects to receive 75 to 100 packages from residents this year, the spokesman said. To participate in the Holiday Package Receiving Program, you must:
- Be a resident of Neptune Beach.
- Have packages sent to Police Headquarters, 200 Lemon St., Neptune Beach 32266.
- Present a Florida driver's license of ID card to pick up your packages between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The program will run through Dec. 23.
