OCPD Warns Oklahomans About Increase In Porch Pirates During Holidays

It’s the holiday season and for many that means ordering gifts online, but before people place their orders, Oklahoma City Police are warning people that porch pirates are on the rise.  

OCPD is urging people to take the proper safety measures before they place their order to make sure the presents make it under the tree.  

“It is that time of year where we notice a little bit of an increase in these types of crimes, theft of packages seems to be a crime of opportunity,” Sgt. Dillon Quirk with the Oklahoma City Police Department said.  

It was an opportunity too good to be true for a recent porch pirate who was caught on camera just one minute after the mail carrier dropped off a package at a home in Oklahoma City, stealing it from their porch.  

“We recently released video of a person that appears to be following a mail truck, that mail truck stopped at a residence near 89th and Bryant, delivered a package to the front porch. An unknown male seems to walk up, take the package off the porch before fleeing in a maroon or purple SUV of some kind,” Quirk said.  

According to research gathered from FedEx, despite a rise in in-person shopping this season, more Americans are shopping online.  

“You can set up times of delivery, you can even set it up to a time where the packages can be delivered into your garage. There are security lock boxes you can buy; those do get quite costly,” Quirk said.  

OCPD said not all hope is lost if a package is stolen.  

“It doesn’t prevent the package from being stolen but any security camera footage that we can get certainly assists us in our investigation,” Quirk said.  

Things like curbside pickup allow people to shop online and have their package waiting for them at the store until they’re able to get their order.  

If anyone has information about the theft on 89th Street, police ask to contact Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300.