Today we live in a society where everything we need is one click away, with free shipping over $25, and arrives in 2 business days. Of course, I am talking about Amazon, the company that seems to be shutting down all the malls and keeping us from ever having to leave our homes. This powerhouse has dramatically changed the meaning of the word convenience for the average person, but also the average criminal. The average thief, who would maybe have to burglarize a store or break into a home to find valuables, now has a much easier way of getting your hard-earned money. All they do is wait for the postman to drop off their packages and get back into his truck. After the coast is clear, they grab your packages and walk away. Once they are in the street, they look like a regular person holding a package. These thieves who take packages off the porches of their victims have been dubbed “Porch Pirates”.
Now that they have your package, the thief can go home and look for something valuable to use or resell. Then when you go outside to pick up your brand-new laptop, you realize that even though your package says delivered, it’s not there. The first thing you do is call the shipping company in a last-ditch effort, hoping they made some type of mistake when they confirmed it was delivered. Then, you finally get the call confirming that your package was dropped off, confirming your suspicions of theft. You have now become the victim of Porch Pirates.
Now that you are the victim of a porch pirate, you must find a way to get your money back. If the package contained something inexpensive like a pet toy it might be easier to get your money back than a laptop. Sometimes, Amazon may even ask you for evidence of a theft, which can be difficult to provide without a security system. Also, if you put in too many claims, they might not allow you to have your packages dropped off without someone there to sign for it. Then you are forced to find a way to be home whenever you want something delivered; a mild inconvenience that might steer you away from delivery and back to the stores.
What can you do to protect yourself against porch pirates?
When I went to Rutgers, I learned about something called routine activity theory, which was first proposed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E. Cohen. Routine activity theory was proposed to help understand why criminals might commit crimes. The structure of their theory relies on the idea that anyone can commit a crime under the right circumstances. The perpetrator just needs to be motivated enough, have an attractive and vulnerable target with a lack of capable guardians to stop them from committing the crime.
If their theory holds weight, then anyone walking down your street could be thinking about stealing packages, and there are only two things that can stop them. First, would be themselves, they decide that they don’t need to steal your package and don’t want to. The value of the package is not worth the loss if they would incur if they were to be caught. Second, is a capable guardian protecting or surveilling your package? This could be a police car parked in front of your home, or it could be a security camera, it does not have to be a person. The presence of capable guardians increases the likelihood of the person being caught, making it a less attractive target for the potential thief. This theory has been tested and remains viable. The more security, or capable guardians, means fewer vulnerable targets which leads to less crime.
A great feature Central Jersey Security Cameras provides that could greatly prevent Porch Pirates is line crossing detection. Line crossing detection or intrusion detection is a function of your DVR, NVR, or IP camera. What it does is instantly detect any motion in a certain “set”, set by you. It will send immediate alerts to your smart device directly from the DVR, NVR, or IP camera. For example: you want to know when someone or something enters your driveway, so you go into the software of your DVR, NVR, or IP camera and start setting up specific areas by drawing lines across the driveway, of course, these are not visible lines to the human eye since it is only a virtual line or perimeter you have created. But it acts just as good as a virtual tripwire. In essence what it will do is activate when the area or line is breached and send you a notification either directly through the app or to your email, whichever you choose. You can even have audible alerts right on site through an external siren or right from the DVR or NVR.
To answer the original question, the only thing you can do to protect yourself from porch pirates makes it more inconvenient for them to steal your package. If you can’t be home watching your porch day and night, like most people. The best option is to purchase cameras or add some type of drop box, to keep your mail safe. In my opinion, having cameras is the best option. It increases the likelihood of the offender being caught, which will take that person off the street and act as a deterrent for other motivated offenders.
Consider Getting a Security System to Prevent Porch Pirates
If you want to protect your packages from potential theft or have already been the victim of a porch pirate, you might want to consider calling Central Jersey Security Cameras. We install security systems, not only for your porch but for your entire home or business. These cameras will cause most porch pirates to reconsider stealing from your home. Our cameras provide you with quality video to help identify trespassers. We also install doorbell camera systems that will record unsuspecting thieves which might be useful evidence for the police. If no one had security cameras these porch pirates would probably never get caught. Getting an image of the thief’s face not only helps you, but it helps everyone in your entire neighborhood. The goal of security systems is to limit crime in your neighborhood and most importantly your home. To protect your property and loved ones, call Central Jersey Security Cameras at (732) 333-0227 or visit www.centraljerseysecuritycameras.com
