AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — Christmas is only a few days away and people are ordering last-minute gifts for everyone on their lists. With the increase in online orders during the holidays, law enforcement said that there is also an increase in the prevalence of porch pirates.
During the holiday season, according to Sergeant Carla Burr, many of porch thieves will follow behind delivery trucks and wait for packages to be dropped.
“It’s just people who are stealing packages off of front porches, front yards and from where delivers have been made. Year around it just increases during the holiday season because it more people seem to get delivers made during the holiday season,” Burr said.
Burr encouraged the community that if their package is stolen too not only post about it on their social media but also report it to law enforcement.
“So intentionally, if they report it and the person already left and they don’t have someone right there still on their property, stealing it right there in the moment. Then, it’s going to be a phone or online report. It’s simple to do, you call dispatch if you want to make a phone report, they will give you a number and someone will call you back within a day and make that report,” She added.
She said that a few tips the community can take to protect their package are to talk with neighbors and see if any of them will be able to grab your package if you can’t. If the package will be delivered while they are at work another tip is to have it delivered to them at work. Burr also encouraged those living in apartments to see if their packages can get left at the apartment’s office rather than their door.
“If you don’t want to have to worry about it because it never happened, and you don’t want it to happen. Or, if it’s happened to you before and you don’t want it to happen again. Here is so things you can do. I know both Randall County and Potter County sheriff’s offices are allowing packages to be delivered to their offices and you can go and pick it up there. So, if you whatever county you live in you can have it delivered there,” she said added.
Another tip that Burr added is when shopping from a big corporation like Walmart or Target to have your package delivered to the store rather than their front door.
When shopping online Burr encouraged people to read the policies of the companies, they are shopping from so they can see if they are protected if their packages are stolen.