Be On The Lookout For Package Theft, Gloucester Twp. Police Warn

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — As consumer buying habits shift to online shopping, porch pirates in Bolingbrook are lurking, ready to pounce on holiday and other packages left at the door by delivery services. A new report shows 36 percent of Americans had a package stolen at least once in the past 12 months.

Gloucester Township police are reminding residents to report any suspicious person and/or act immediately. Residents can call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency, and 856-228-4500 for a non-emergency. Police will need as much of suspect description as possible, and urging residents not to put themselves in danger.

Police provided the following tips to prevent package theft and avoid porch pirates:

• Always retrieve packages (and mail) as soon as it arrives.
• Reschedule Delivery or Ask for a Package Hold if you're not going to be home.
• Ask Your Neighbors to Grab Your Packages.
• Leave special instructions on where to deliver the package. A good place is on the side or back of the house, so that the package is out of sight from the road.
• Use a company that provides a tracking service and check online to see when it is scheduled to arrive.

More than 5.5 million Americans have been victimized by package thefts over the past year, according to Finder, a personal finance comparison website, in a study released in November.

About $5.4 billion worth of items were stolen in package thefts from November 2019 to November 2020, the Finder determined. Because of the busy online shopping month of December, that number is likely to grow by the end of the year.

Fewer people were in the nation's malls on Black Friday, and Cyber Monday is expected to become the busiest online shopping day of all time when all sales are totaled, according to The Associated Press.

Overall holiday season sales in 2020 are expected to rise 0.9 percent, with a 36 percent jump in online sales, a study by the research company eMarketer shows. Porch pirates could see a prime opportunity to take advantage of the expected spike in packages left at front doors.

They usually get away with it, too. Only 11 percent of victims said the culprits were caught, according to a 2019 study by C+R Research.