While the holiday season is the most common time for packages to be stolen – due to the uptick in deliveries and nature of what is being ordered – thefts do not stop when the calendar turns to a new year. To wit, a package was recently stolen off the front porch of a Mt. Pleasant Parkway home; the Livingston Detective Bureau continues to investigate the matter.
Package theft has, unfortunately, become a common nuisance in recent years as people more frequently than ever rely on home delivery.
A 2019 New York Times report of package theft found that 1.7 million packages went missing every day in the United States, a loss of $25 million daily. Once the pandemic hit, estimates of package theft became harder to track, though the United States Postal Service reported a 161 percent increase in mail theft complaints in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to a September 2023 report from the Office of the Inspector General. Additionally a September 2021 Consumer Reports survey of 2,341 interviewees found that one in ten of them have had a package stolen, with almost two thirds of that group having been a victim of more than one package theft.
This is clearly an issue, and not just in Livingston. But there are steps that can be taken to limit the likelihood of becoming a package theft victim.
The simplest measures people can take to protect their packages include: installing a video doorbell, outdoor security camera, floodlight cameras, pathway lights, or mailbox sensors; sending deliveries to hub lockers or purchasing a smart delivery box to hold packages; or tracking your packages and alerting a friend or neighbor to pick them up when they arrive. If you know you will be out of town, you may also alert the post office to hold onto packages until you return home.
None of these are perfect solutions, but it is safe to assume that those looking to steal packages will go for the easiest targets. It is not unlike locking your car doors: the simplest steps are the best deterrents.
